Fushigi Ryuu
by zhelenstilo
Summary: ....my first try at a fanfic....it's yet another reincarnation fic, centered around Nuriko....shounen ai........will eventually have some action too, just not quite yet.... seventh chapter up!
1. first day of school

AUTHORS NOTE:

Well, this is my absolute first serious try at fanfiction for _anything_, so forgive me if it's wildly OOC. Nuriko is my second favorite bishounen EVER, so it seemed fitting to write from his point of view. It's a reincarnation fic (how original), except that in my reincarnation of the seishi, Nuriko and Tasuki are stuck as brothers, twins in fact. This is why I played around with their last name a little. Nuriko won out, so they both get his real last name instead of Tasuki's.

The title to the story is a working one...I have a very hard time coming up with titles for things, and this just kinda popped into my head when I tried to think of something. Now that I think about it again, it's a pretty bad title, and is subject to change.

Just as a note, I gave this story a rating of PG-13, because I'm not sure exactly how bad it's going to get. I will try very hard to keep it clean, but it's certainly not G, because I like to let Tasuki swear when he wants to. It's also going to be shounen ai, which should be expected with Nuriko as the main character...

I'd like feedback…especially about how I did Nuriko's character. I'm sure it's not completely right, because I have a hard time writing someone else's character. That, and feedback makes my world a much happier place to leave, even if it tells me I suck, because at least it means people are _reading_ the story.

DISCLAIMER:

Nuriko/Ryuuen, Tasuki/Genrou/Shun'u, Kouji, and the dream guy (hmmmmmmm, who wonders who the dream guy is??) don't belong to me. Fushigi Yuugi doesn't belong to me. Eventually, once everyone else shows up, they won't belong to me either. I'm just borrowing them and playing with them (and giving Nuriko what he wants…Hotohori!) Suing me would do no good, because after paying $450 for books this semester I was practically broke, and the rest of it I spent at Cog-con on Fushigi Yuugi manga, a Seiryuu wall scroll, anime music, and pocky.

Himitsu on the other hand is mine, ALL MINE!!!!! I haven't let anyone take him yet…and I'm not about to either. All others so far are just random characters, and if you take them I won't be too angry, but if you can't come up with your own random characters that's pretty sad…

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chapter 1: first day of school

Another summer gone, another year of school beginning. Same old, same old. Except that this was the last year of school, and Shun'u was back from reform school, so he'd be in my homeroom, like he had our freshman year of high school. Oh, and because old Mr. Carter had finally (forcefully) been retired (I'd heard that his heart had given out on a roller coaster over the summer) that meant we had a new homeroom teacher.

I sighed as I put on the final touches to my makeup. Over on his side of the room, Shun'u, or Genrou as he'd told me to call him after he'd gotten back a week earlier, was rolling his eyes and trying desperately to forget he was related to me. It was the same thing he did every morning, and it definitely wasn't something I'd missed while he was away. But, to be honest, I hadn't missed much about sharing a room with my brother at all while he'd been away at reform school.

I put down the lipstick, pressed my lips together, and appraised my appearance in the mirror. It wasn't perfect, I could never get it perfect, but it would do for the first day of school, and that's all that mattered. My violet hair was loosely braided, looking like it was just something I'd done to keep it out of the way, even though it had taken me a good half hour to get it to stay the way I wanted to. I had on just the right amount of makeup, not so much that it looked fake, just enough to enhance. After all, that was the point of makeup.

Standing from my seat in front of my smaller mirror I moved over to the full length mirror right next to it. I was wearing a simple pale blue dress that day, loose, but quite pretty. It was one of my favorite dresses, even though it was probably the simplest as well. I gave an experimental twirl, watching the skirt flare out, and I heard Shun'u (Genrou, I had to remember he wanted to be called Genrou) snort.

"Do ya even remember how to act like a guy?" he asked me. I looked over at him and shrugged.

"Why should I?" I asked.

"'Cause ya _are_ a guy dammit!" he exclaimed.

I didn't really have a good response for him. The matter had come up several times already, and I hadn't had a response for him any of those times. It had been something he'd been bothered by even before he'd gone away, but now that he was back it had come up even more. Luckily for me, I didn't need a response, because at that moment Mom decided to call us down for breakfast.

"Ryuuen, Shun'u, breakfast!" she called. I didn't bother to respond with what I would have said at one point. Instead I grabbed my backpack and headed downstairs to get some breakfast.

"It's Genrou dammit!" he exclaimed angrily, but he grabbed his backpack and followed me.

"Ryuuen honey, are you sure you want to go to school looking like that again?" Mom asked when she saw what I was wearing. I sighed, it was starting again.

"Yes Mom," I said. I'd been through this far too many times. It happened at the beginning of every school year, and periodically throughout the school year as well. "I'm going to school in what I'm wearing."

"Ya look like a girl," Genrou commented from his seat at the table. He'd already started eating.

"That's the point and you know it," I said.

It was just like it had been before he was sent off to reform school. The only difference was that we were older, and he insisted on us calling him Genrou. He said that his name, Shun'u, sounded like some kind of sneeze. I had to agree with him that Genrou sounded like a better name.

But it was still all the same. Mom tried to get me to change, at least into a pair of pants. Genrou kept making comments about how I looked like a girl. I tried to ignore the two of them and just eat my breakfast, and when I was done I headed out the door to start walking to school, not even bothering to wait for Genrou.

"Oi, wait up!" he called, bolting down the rest of his food and running out the door to follow me. "Hey, Ryuuen, wait!"

"I thought you didn't want to be seen around me?" I asked, directing a glance back at him. "After all, I am the freak…"

"Ya still know how to get to school," he said. I turned to stare at him incredulously and started laughing.

"You forgot how to get to school?" I asked, and he glared at me, but nodded. "How did you do _that_?"

"It's been over two years," he said. "I had better things to remember during that time!"

-

And that was how I ended up with a rather angry and annoyed looking Genrou following me to school for the first day of our senior year. It was much like our freshman year, which was the only day of that whole year that we actually arrived at school together. Of course, as soon as we spotted the school he took off, not wanting to be seen near his freak of a brother.

There was a time when I wouldn't have even admitted that I was Genrou's brother. Sister maybe, but that was when I called myself Kourin and swore I was a girl. I'd gotten over that a year or so ago, but I found that, even when admitting I was a guy, I enjoyed dressing like a girl. It was weird, but I felt comfortable doing it, and Mom and Genrou would never get me to change that.

I saw Genrou meet up with his best friend Kouji, and the reunion started. They hadn't seen each other in two years, and I could tell that Genrou had missed his friend. They were close, close enough that some rather nasty rumors had started about them our freshman year. Never mind that I was the one who had claimed to be a girl, Genrou was the one who they said was gay, because of him and Kouji. And the fights that he got into because of that were what had gotten him sent off to reform school.

I ignored the two of them, walking past them to enter the school. On my way I heard a few guys throw insults my way, things like "queer," "girly boy," and "freak." I was used to it, and I ignored them. It had been like that since before I'd stopped thinking of myself as Kourin, and what those narrow-minded boys thought didn't bother me. Or at least, that's what I told myself, and unless I stopped to think about it I could convince myself it was true.

It was the girls at school who bothered me more. Most of them, as I walked by, muttered among themselves. I couldn't hear what they were saying, but I knew anyway. They were jealous of me, because I was prettier than most of them. And when girls are jealous they get mean. Most of the rumors that floated around the school about me were started by the girls, not by the guys. Life at school was not always fun, because of the girls.

"Ryuuen!" a voice exclaimed, shocking me out of my thoughts. I recognized the voice right away as one of my few friends at school. She was a fun person, and unlike most of the girls at school, she didn't really care that I was prettier than her when I tried. Well, she cared, but not in a bad way, and not enough that it strained our friendship. Rather, she treated me like just another girl, which was the way I liked it.

"Hey Beth," I said, noticing that she was really excited for some reason.

"Have you been by your homeroom yet?" she asked. I shook my head, and she bounced up and down. "Mr. Carter's replacement's in there already! He's young, and _cute_! You are _sooooooooo_ lucky!"

"Don't you have history with him?" I asked.

"No," she said, hanging her head. "Couldn't fit it in my schedule. I'm taking the other American history class instead, with the General teaching it."

She stuck out her tongue in disgust, and I sympathized. The General was one of the worst teachers in the school. It wasn't that he couldn't teach, it was that he was old, and mean, and very, very demanding. I'd had him before, and I didn't envy Beth. I'd heard that he was starting to get worse…

-

We continued to talk like that for a while. Unfortunately, we had to stop before the school day actually started, because she was in a different homeroom than I was. So, not too long before the bell rang, we separated and I headed for homeroom, hoping that Genrou would be there.

He was _supposed_ to be there, because homerooms were arranged alphabetically, but knowing him he would decide to skip even the first day of school. He decided a long time ago that hanging out with Kouji was much more fun than sitting in class. That was another thing that got him sent to reform school.

I was relieved when I saw him sitting, grumpily, in homeroom. I was actually surprised that he wasn't with Kouji until the last possible moment though. I looked for my assigned seat, something I hated, but was usually pretty inevitable on the first day, and found it right next to Genrou. This annoyed me a little, since I would have thought he would at least _tell_ me that I was sitting next to him. After all, I'm his brother, and he was watching me, with a look of annoyance and almost disgust, the whole time.

"You could have said something," I muttered to him as I sat down.

"More fun this way," he said, with the smirk that he always used when trying to get on my nerves.

"Baka!" I said, slamming my elbow down on his head. It was a bad habit of mine, hurting him whenever he annoyed me. It was a hard thing to break, because he liked annoying me. It wasn't like he meant to really make me mad, and I didn't actually hurt him either.

Of course, that habit of mine was about the only time I still slipped into Japanese. We'd lived in the US since…well, since Dad and Kourin had died in the accident, and that had been for at least ten years. Mom had wanted a change after our lives had changed, and moving to a different country had been the best change she could think of. I'd slowly worked the Japanese out of my speech since then, and by then the only times I fell back in were when I was reacting to Genrou, or when I was mad.

"Excuse me, young lady!" a man's voice said as soon as I brought my elbow down on Genrou's head. I could hear snickers from the rest of the class, who all knew that I wasn't a girl. I assumed the voice was from our new teacher, who obviously _didn't_ realize I was a guy.

"He's no lady, man," Genrou said as I sheepishly turned to look at the teacher.

"I really wasn't trying to hurt him," I said quickly, at the same time as Genrou was talking. "He's my brother. It's something we do all the time, and…"

I trailed off as I saw who I was making excuses to. I'd forgotten Beth's comment about my new teacher, so when I saw him I wasn't prepared at all to see a young looking man who was _cute_. And that is what he was. He didn't even look old enough to be a teacher, probably somewhere around twenty. And he was…well, the best word to describe him would be beautiful. But it wasn't a girly kind of beautiful, like I was, but a very, very masculine beautiful.

It was the kind of beautiful that my dream guy was. I kept seeing in my dreams this guy. He was the most beautiful man I'd ever seen, and at that time my dreams of him had started getting…well, erotic. I'd never met anyone like him before, and I had no idea why he was in my dreams, but he was something I _never_ told anyone about. It would be to embarrassing.

Anyway, my teacher was beautiful in the same way that my dream guy was beautiful. He had slightly dark skin, making him look like he had a tan, and very long hair. I think his hair was longer than mine was at the time. It was red too, not a natural red, but the actual color _red_.

And his eyes were bright green, which I discovered after I turned, because I was looking straight into them. He seemed to be laughing at me. I felt my face get warm, and I immediately turned away, embarrassed. Genrou started laughing at this.

"So I see," he said to Genrou. "Well, young _man_, please don't hit him, even if he is your brother."

"Ok," I said quietly.

Genrou continued to laugh as I blushed furiously and the teacher made his way up to the front of the room. I had to restrain myself from hitting him again, and instead glared at him angrily. He just smirked.

Then the bell rang, and the teacher cleared his throat to get our attention. That didn't work, of course. He was just a teacher (even if he was cute) and he was new. That was two strikes against him in trying to get the class to quiet down.

"Hello…!" he called out, and everyone quieted down.

"That's better," he said, smiling a little. "Now, I know you've all been through all of this before, so I'll keep it short. I'm Himitsu Ryuujin, and as I'm sure you've all assumed, I'm going to be your homeroom teacher from now on, since Mr. Carter was ordered to stop teaching by his doctor. I don't mind if you don't call me Mr. Ryuujin, in fact, I prefer it that way. Just call me Himitsu."

For a moment I wondered just what kind of parents he had had to have the name Himitsu. Who would name their kid "secret"? But then I decided that it was probably just odd parents. After all, my own parents had named their children Shun'u, Ryuuen, and Kourin. Those weren't exactly normal names either, more like something out of an old story.

"Anyway," he continued. "You're all seniors, and I hope you all know the rules by now. So, I'm going to skip that, unless you actually want me to go over them?"

"Hell no!" Genrou exclaimed, and I stopped myself from hitting him again. A few others in the room agreed with him.

"Very well then," Himitsu said. "But, even though I myself have no problems with swearing, I'd ask that you follow the school rules and not do so here." He directed a glance at Genrou. "And now I suppose I should take attendance, to make sure that everyone is here."

He started reading off names on the list. I waited, bored already. Genrou and I were almost at the end of the list, so it usually took a while to get to us, especially on the first day when Himitsu was getting corrected for pronunciation and nicknames with almost every name. Then, finally, he got to us.

"Ryuuen Chou," he said, and I raised my hand, saying "Here." "Shun'u Chou."

"Call me Genrou," Genrou said. It surprised me. I'd never had a teacher pronounce my name right, and Genrou's was usually mangled more than mine was. But Himitsu had gotten both right.

The rest of homeroom was boring. We sat there for a while, talking. I was bored, because none of the few friends I had were in my homeroom, and Genrou was making it very clear that he didn't want anything to do with me. So I sat there, and I started to daydream.


	2. my dream guy

AUTHORS NOTE:

The stuff from part 1 still applies to this part. This is my first try at fanfiction ever, so I'm a little worried about OOCness. Of course, this is a reincarnation fic, and because they have lived different lives this time around, they won't be exactly the same. For those who for some reason haven't read part 1 (why you'd do that, I don't know), or don't remember, Nuriko and Tasuki are brothers in this story, twins.

A note on Hotohori's name in this fic... All I know about his real name is Saihitei. Does he have a last name?? Unfortunately that really doesn't work with what I'm doing, considering this takes place in modern day US (no specific part of the US, but it will probably end up being much like central Wisconsin, cause that's what I know best). So, I've altered his name just a little, just as I changed Tasuki's last name to work with the fact that he and Nuriko are brothers. For this fic he is Sai Hitei.

The title is still very much subject to change…and still has no basis in the story yet, though it will eventually. And, I love feedback! I crave feedback. I don't necessarily need it to write…but I have found that, like anime, it is addictive. That, and it makes me feel like people are actually _reading_ my story!! So…feedback GOOOOOOOOOD! Especially feedback about how I'm doing the characters...

DISCLAIMER:

Nuriko/Ryuuen, Tasuki/Genrou/Shun'u, Kouji, and Hotohori/Saihitei don't belong to me. Fushigi Yuugi doesn't belong to me. Eventually, once everyone else shows up, they won't belong to me either. I'm just borrowing them and playing with them (and giving Nuriko what he wants…Hotohori!) Suing me would do no good, because after paying $450 for books this semester I was practically broke, and the rest of it I spent at Cog-con on Fushigi Yuugi manga, a Seiryuu wall scroll, anime music, and pocky.

Himitsu on the other hand is mine, ALL MINE!!!!! I haven't let anyone take him yet…and I'm not about to either. The person in the trench coat is mine too, so that person's off limits too. All others so far are just random characters, and if you take them I won't be too angry, but if you can't come up with your own random characters that's pretty sad...

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chapter 2: my dream guy

The day went as is usually did, boring like school always was, but fun because I usually had at least one of my few good friends in each class. The only class I didn't have a friend in was history, but Genrou was in there, and he was better than someone who hated me. That class was taught by Himitsu too, and that didn't hurt.

Of course, Genrou didn't look too pleased to see me in the class. He was more than a little embarrassed by just being known as my brother. And I think he was even more embarrassed then, after being away, than he had been before. At least before the majority of the people at school weren't sure if I was a guy or a girl. Now I admitted to being a guy, and that seemed to embarrass Genrou more than before.

"What is it with you?" he asked me when I entered the room for history and he noticed me. "Are ya followin' me or something?"

"Maybe Mom told me to keep an eye on you," I joked, and he turned red with anger, actually believing me. "No, honest! I'm _not_ following you. I just happened to get put in the same class as you. Anyway, this is the only class we've had together all day!"

Seeing as it was seventh hour by then, and almost the end of the day with only one class left after that, I didn't think it should seem like I was following him. I'd seen him once between homeroom and then, and that was during lunch. Besides that he'd been nowhere in my day, and not just because he could have been skipping class.

"And that's one too many…" he grumbled, and I thwapped him in the back of the head.

"Baka!" I exclaimed. "It's just one class. You'll survive."

He muttered something evil sounding before putting as much distance between me and him as he could. I ignored it, deciding that provoking him more would probably end up getting me in trouble, even though I really wanted to go sit next to him just to bother him. Instead I sat where I was, waiting for class to start so I could get it over with.

-

I didn't see Genrou after school, not that I expected to. He was probably off spending time with Kouji and his other friends. He was a big boy, he knew how to get home on his own, and he wouldn't want me around anyway. Not that I was sure I would want to be involved in whatever he was doing anyway. I wasn't quite sure of what he did with his friends, but it was probably something I wouldn't like.

I looked for my friends after school. I was bored, and I wanted to do something with them. But I couldn't find anyone, because they all had cars, and had disappeared as soon as the bell had rang. They probably hadn't meant to leave me out. It was probably just that they forgot about me for some reason. After all, we forgot others in the group every now and then. Of course, that didn't make me feel any better at being abandoned.

"Meanies…" I muttered, before going to find something else to do instead of walking home already.

As I walked out of the school, I noticed a guy standing on the other side of the patio outside of the commons. I noticed him because he looked odd, which was all because of how he was dressed. It was late summer, and he was wearing a trench coat and a hat. I didn't see how he wasn't roasting in it, but he was standing there, in the nice, hot, end of summer heat wearing a heavy coat and looking mysterious.

He kinda reminded me of the typical image of a school terrorist. You know, the ones who bomb schools and do shootings. I didn't really think he was one of them though. It wasn't fair to judge people by how they looked. He was probably just waiting for someone, and for some reason didn't want to be recognized.

I realized I was probably right about him waiting for someone when I saw someone approach him. After looking closely I realized it was Himitsu, and the two of them walked off together, talking about something. I shrugged, and decided to try and forget about it. If a mysterious looking guy (or girl, it could have been a girl) in a trench coat wanted to talk to Himitsu it was his own business. Of course, that didn't mean I couldn't be curious.

By then I'd realized that I really didn't have anything to do since my friends were all gone already. Well, nothing to do besides start walking home. So that is just what I did, after deciding that I had nothing better to do than taking the long way home.

The long way was a very scenic and pretty route home, even if it took a good ten or fifteen minutes longer most days. I preferred it because it was pretty, and because it took me through the park near my house, which was the prettiest part of the whole walk. Of course, it was prettier in the springtime, when the flowers were blooming, than it was in late summer. But it was still pretty.

That day I lingered in the park, sitting on a bench while I stared at the trees around me. It felt peaceful there, especially at that moment when there were no other people in the park, a rare thing in the middle of the city. I was just leaning back on the bench and staring at the sky when I heard a voice that sounded familiar coming from beside me a little bit, even though I couldn't place where I'd heard it before.

"Hello," that familiar voice, a deep, beautiful man's voice, said to me, and I sat up, turning to face the speaker.

It was the man from my dreams. I could never forget his face, ever, and the guy standing in front of me was definitely him. He was about the same age as me, somewhere between sixteen and twenty-something, though I was inclined to say twenty-something, just because of the sheer maturity of his face. His face had a regal look to it, one that only a mature person would have. I guessed he was still in high school though, because he was wearing the uniform of the nearby private school, a very expensive school that only the richest kids ended up going to.

He was tall and slightly muscular, completely masculine while still being beautiful beyond belief. He had chocolate brown hair, grown to his waist and held in a kind of loose tail with the tie somewhere in the middle of the length of his hair. His eyes, I noticed as I tried _not_ to stare at them, were a deep, rich amber color, somewhere between yellow and brown, but much more than that. They were, quite simply, the most wonderful eyes I had ever seen.

He was the most beautiful person I'd ever seen. I'd realized that in my dreams, the first time I'd seen him there. But there was something about seeing him in real life that was just…more. I just sat there for a moment, completely unable to speak, before I realized that I was staring like an idiot, and that he would probably think just that if I continued.

"Uh…hi," I said lamely, feeling really awkward just talking to _him_. My mind was busy wondering why he was talking to me, but it didn't have to wait long, because that was the next thing that came out of his mouth.

"It's not every day that I find a woman as beautiful as I am," he said matter-of-factly. I wondered exactly where he was going with that statement, because he obviously couldn't be talking about me.

"That's true," I said, because it was true. I didn't think I'd ever seen a woman as beautiful as him.

"Anyway," he continued. "I told my friends that if I ever did find a woman as beautiful as I, that I would ask her out on a date. I was not sure that day would come. But it has, and so I will keep my word. Would you care to go out sometime, perhaps for dinner and a movie?"

I inwardly winced, because it he had mistaken me for a girl. It wasn't that I wasn't used to being mistaken for a girl. After all, I did dress like a girl, and until a year before I had claimed to be one. But since I had stopped being Kourin there hadn't been anywhere near as many people who thought I was female as there had been before that. But _he_ thought I was female.

I wanted to correct him. I had sworn after I stopped being Kourin that I wouldn't let people keep thinking I was female any more. Everyone who _did_ mistake me for a girl was quickly told otherwise. But for some reason I couldn't bring myself to correct _him_. I opened my mouth to say it, but the words just wouldn't come out.

"M-me?" I asked instead, my voice almost squeaking, and sounding much more feminine than it usually did. I could feel my face growing warm in a blush. "You think _I'm_ as beautiful as you?"

"Of course," he said. "Do you see any other beautiful women around here?"

By that time I had almost convinced myself that I was either dreaming, or that someone was playing some sick joke on me. I had pretty much ruled out dreaming though, because I was fairly sure that my dream wouldn't have _him_ mistaking me for a girl. After all, he had never done so before in my dreams. In my dreams he always knew, and it didn't seem to matter to him.

But I didn't think it could be a sick joke either. No one _knew_ about my dreams, and about him. So why would they know to have _him_ do this? But that would leave it being real, and I was almost sure it wasn't that. It was too good to be true, and too unbelievable to be true.

"Uh…" I said, feeling like an idiot, because I couldn't quite force out the words. I wanted to tell him I was male, that he was wrong, but I just couldn't do it. I knew I should, and I knew my conscience wasn't going to let me go until I did, but I just couldn't.

"So?" he asked again. I steeled myself, preparing to tell him that he was mistaken and then face the consequences. But I made the mistake of looking into his eyes, and with that one glance I lost all of my nerve.

"That would be wonderful," I said, looking down at the ground, my face probably red as a beet by that point.

"Perfect!" he said, and I looked up to see him smiling. "When would be good for you? Perhaps tomorrow evening, at seven?"

"That sounds good," I said quietly.

My mind was screaming at me that I was horrid, not telling him that I wasn't a woman. I was not going to be able to forgive myself for deceiving _him_ like that. But another part of me just didn't care. I was going on a date with _him_, and that was the most important part.

"Good," he said. "I will meet you here tomorrow, at seven. Until then."

He started to walk away. I sat there for a moment, not quite believing what had just happened. Then I realized that I didn't even know his name.

"Wait!" I called out, and he turned back to look at me questioningly. "You didn't tell me your name…" I finished, feeling a little stupid, even though I knew it wasn't a dumb thing to do.

"Oh," he said. "My name is Sai Hitei. Might I ask yours?"

I hesitated for a moment. I couldn't tell him my name was Ryuuen. It sounded too male, even if it was a strange name for where we were. It would probably ruin everything, and even though I knew I should tell him I was male I didn't want to. So I decided to do something I hadn't done in almost a year.

"Kourin," I said. "My name is Kourin Chou."

"Well then Kourin," he said. "I shall see you tomorrow."

And then he really did walk off. I sat there again, still not quite understanding what had just happened. I had really met the guy from my dreams…and he had asked me on a date! It seemed almost unreal.

I sat on that bench for another ten minutes before finally shaking the last of the disbelief off and getting up. Putting on my backpack, I headed back home, feeling much happier than I had in a long time, though still a little guilty at not telling Sai that I was really a guy.

Mom was waiting for me when I got back. She knew better than to expect me right away, because I did have a life. But she also knew that sometimes I didn't do things after school and instead headed home right away. So she was there when I came back to the house, almost bouncing with happiness and excitement.

"You look happy," she said, and I smiled at her.

"I am!" I exclaimed, though I didn't tell her any more than that. All I said was that I had a good day at school. Since that wasn't too far from the truth I didn't feel very bad for lying to her.

-

Genrou didn't get home until right before dinner. We didn't even expect him back for that, but he showed up anyway. He gave me odd looks all night long, especially after I started calling him "Gen-chan." The first time was just because I was that happy, but after he got kinda pissed off at that one I decided to do it just to annoy him. It worked.

"So," he asked later that night, while I was getting reading for bed. "What'cha _really_ so excited about? I don't buy that shit about a good day at school."

"Nothing…" I said, shrugging, but he didn't buy it.

"Yer actin' like a girl in love," he commented absently, without really realizing what he had just said. I could tell the moment when he did realize it though, because his head snapped around to stare at me intensely.

"That it?" he asked me. "Are ya in love?"

"I have a date tomorrow…" I said, climbing into bed. "But that's all, honest!"

"So are ya finally learning to be a guy?" he asked me. I would have gone over to hit him, but I was too comfortable in bed to bother getting up.

"I _am_ a guy!" I exclaimed, thought much less emphatically than I usually did. I was tired, and I wanted to sleep. I didn't want to argue with Genrou.

"Guys don't wear dresses," he muttered, but I ignored him.

"Good night, Gen-chan," I said, flipping off the light switch beside me and settling down to sleep. He grumbled at being called Gen-chan again, but he didn't do anything about it and went to sleep as well.


	3. date

AUTHORS NOTE:

The stuff from part 1 still applies to this part too. This is my first try at fanfiction ever, so I'm a little worried about OOCness. Of course, this is a reincarnation fic, and because they have lived different lives this time around, they won't be exactly the same. For those who for some reason haven't read part 1 or 2 (why you'd do that, I don't know), or don't remember, Nuriko and Tasuki are brothers in this story, twins.

Ummmm, sorry about being so late on this part...I hit writer's block for most of last school year. Now it's the summer, and I've hit another huge wave of writing...almost have another part to this story done too. Hopefully it won't die until I get some stories done. Anyone who actually waited for this is to be commended!

The title is still very much subject to change...and still has no basis in the story yet, though it will eventually. And, I love feedback! I crave feedback. I don't necessarily need it to write...but I have found that, like anime, it is addictive. That, and it makes me feel like people are actually _reading_ my story, which is something I doubt is happening after taking so long with this part!! So...feedback GOOOOOOOOOD! Especially feedback about how I'm doing the characters...

DISCLAIMER:

Nuriko/Ryuuen, Tasuki/Genrou/Shun'u, Kouji, and Hotohori/Saihitei don't belong to me. Fushigi Yuugi doesn't belong to me. Eventually, once everyone else shows up, they won't belong to me either. I'm just borrowing them and playing with them (and giving Nuriko what he wants…Hotohori!) Suing me would do no good, because after losing my scholarship for college I have almost no money, and that that I _do_ have is needed to buy books this year.

Himitsu on the other hand is mine, ALL MINE!!!!! I haven't let anyone take him yet...and I'm not about to either. The person in the trench coat is mine too, so that person's off limits too (and his/her identity will be revealed in the next part...I've already written it!). All others so far are just random characters, and if you take them I won't be too angry, but if you can't come up with your own random characters that's pretty sad...

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chapter 3: date

The next morning I woke to a bad trick of Genrou's. It was something he'd come up with not too long after he got back from reform school, and he'd done it over half of the days he'd been back so far. And, no matter what I did, I couldn't stop him from doing it.

What he did was simple, but very, very evil. He didn't wake up to an alarm, just didn't hear it. I had to practically shake him to get him to wake up. But for some reason he had lot of alarm clocks. I thought at first that he was trying to use all of them to somehow get himself up. Of course, that was before I found out what they were _really_ for, the hard way.

About the third day he was back he set all of the alarms for a different, way too early, time and hid them around the room. Since they didn't work at getting him up, he didn't have to worry about them. But every single one of them woke me up, and then I had to go searching around the room to turn them off before falling back asleep. Then, when I woke him up later he laughed. He thought it was hilarious.

He did the same thing that morning. One alarm went off at 3:32 am, almost two hours before my alarm was set to go off. Another went off at 4:07, and after that I stopped looking at the time and tried my hardest to ignore them after hiding them. For some reason Genrou always had more of them, no matter how many I hid. It was getting to the point where I was going to start smashing them instead of hiding them.

I'd learned after the second time that trying to wake Genrou up early to get some sort of revenge just didn't work. He always just yawned, blinked at me, and went back to sleep. It didn't even bother him, which really frustrated me. He just didn't seem to notice it.

Unfortunately, I definitely _did_ notice being woken up way too early. I may not be anywhere near as bad as Genrou at getting up, but I did not enjoy being woken up at insane hours. Of course, Genrou seemed to find it absolutely hilarious when I stumbled about half-asleep because I'd been woken too many times in the early morning to get a decent night's sleep.

That morning it didn't affect me anywhere near as bad as it had the first times. It sucked, being woken up early like that, but when time came for _my_ alarm to go off I woke up easily, and I didn't feel any more tired than I usually did. I figured it was my lingering excitement about my date. After all, it was for that night.

As I shook him awake, Genrou noticed that I was in a much better mood than I usually was when he played that prank on me. He even commented on it, only to get a smile and a "Gen-chan" from me. That got a muttered streak of swearing from him as I almost bounced across the room to get ready for the day.

My choice of clothing that day got a sneer from Genrou, again. It was no more masculine than the day before, though it was for a much better reason this time. After all, I had a date later, and I wanted to look my best for that. And, Sai thought I was a girl, so I definitely wanted to wear a dress.

My choice of dress was a light, cream-colored dress with little purple and blue flowers on it. It was a two-piece dress, a sleeveless main part that went down to my knees and a little jacket like part to go over that. It was also one of my favorites in my wardrobe.

I put my hair up instead of just braiding it like I had the day before. I decided that I wanted to go for a bun (though I hated thinking of it as a bun, because buns make me think of old ladies). Instead of a full bun though I only put some of it in the bun and the rest I let hang down, enough to reach to the middle of my back.

The final touch was makeup, and after that I went down for breakfast. Genrou was already there by then, since he needed a lot less time to get dressed and ready even though I had claimed the shower first. Mom sighed when she saw me, having already given up on trying to get me to dress like a normal guy, and Genrou snorted.

"You look very pretty today Ryuuen," Mom said. "But wouldn't you rather wear some pants? I would think wearing dresses to school every day must be a hassle." Mom knew better than to come out and say, "Dress like a man, Ryuuen."

"Yeah, real pretty," Genrou added. "Too bad guys aren't supposed to be pretty."

"Shun'u!" Mom exclaimed.

"It's Genrou now Mom," he said. "Not Shun'u. How many times do I need to tell ya?"

"Of course," Mom said.

After that things were pretty boring and normal. We finished breakfast and left for school. Genrou didn't walk with me this time, since the walk yesterday had reminded him how to get to school. I met up with Beth and a few others at school and got the usual taunts and sneers from half of the others in the halls.

We didn't have homeroom, that day, since it wasn't the first day of school anymore, and it wasn't Tuesday, which was the day we normally had a half hour homeroom period between first and second hour. Instead we just went to first hour at the beginning of the day, and I didn't see Genrou or Himitsu until seventh hour, history.

Surprisingly, Genrou was there again. It seemed that his two years at reform school really had done some good. Our freshman year he had started skipping class the second day of school, and he hadn't been to more than two-thirds of his classes that year, though somehow he'd still passed everything.

Himitsu's class was great. I normally didn't care much about history of any kind, but he had been really interesting the day before, and he seemed like a really good teacher. After just one class I had decided he was one of the best teachers I had that year. And because of that, calling him just plain Himitsu was starting to bug me.

It was probably something left over from when we'd lived in Japan, but I didn't just want to call him by his first name. I wasn't about to call him Mr. Ryuujin either, because he said he didn't want to be called that, and Mr. Himitsu just sounded weird, and wasn't right.

So, halfway through class, I finally decided what I could do. Right about then I had a question to ask, and when he finally called on me to ask I addressed him as Himitsu-sensei, instead of just Himitsu. It earned me a few weird looks from the rest of the class, and Genrou rolled his eyes. Himitsu, on the other hand, looked like he would have sweatdropped had he been an anime character. But no one said anything about it, and I decided to continue it.

After class one of the girls in the class, not one of the nasty ones who said things about me, but a girl that I didn't know all that well, walked up to me and asked me why I'd called Himitsu that. I saw half of the rest of the class watching and listening; they were curious but didn't want to be caught associating with the freak. She, on the other hand, was just popular enough that she wouldn't be affected by talking to me.

She told me that she'd heard sensei before, in the movies, and always associated with karate and stuff like that, so she wondered what it really meant. She was really nice about it, so I told her what it means and why I decided to start calling Himitsu that. After that she thanked me and walked away, and I had time left over to get to my next class.

-

Nothing much happened during eighth hour, or after school. Class was English (world literature this year) and boring as English classes usually were. I didn't do much after school, just went to spend time with my small group of friends, of which I was the only male. One of the others had to go shopping, so we did that.

I'd told my friends that I had a date, and, unlike Genrou, they didn't assume that it was a girl. Most of my friends had known for a while that I liked guys, since I talked about which guys were cute with them when I claimed to be Kourin, and hadn't stopped now that I was admitting to being Ryuuen. They just wished me luck. I didn't tell them that he thought I was a girl.

After shopping, I went home for dinner and, to my surprise, found Genrou there already. That was odd, considering he hadn't been home for dinner once since he'd come home. But even though he was there, dinner was just like normal, not that I had anything connected with dinner on my mind while I ate. After all, what I'd been waiting for all day, my date with the guy from my dreams, was _after_ dinner.

I was there in the park a half hour early. I was so nervous and afraid I was going to be late that I ended up leaving far too early. So I ended up waiting in the park for a while, staring at the trees like I had the day before. That helped a lot to calm my nerves.

Sai got to the park right on time, as in exactly when the clock in the park hit seven o'clock. I was sitting there demurely, waiting for him, though my appearance did _not_ reflect the state of panic that my mind was in. I was starting to have second thoughts about the whole date thing, regretting that I hadn't told him that I was male, again, and it was making me a nervous wreck.

"Hello, fair lady," he greeted me. Another wave of uneasiness swept over me at the word lady, but I pushed it back. "You look radiant."

"Th-thank you," I stammered, my cheeks growing warm. Just those few words washed away the nervousness of not telling him I was male. I was still worried about it, but it wasn't about to make me start screaming anymore. "You look wonderful too."

"Thank you," he said graciously. Then he offered me his arm. "Shall we?"

I tried not to make a fool of myself as I rose from the bench to join him and take him arm. Luckily, I managed to stand up without falling flat on my face and embarrassing myself beyond all hope of saving face, and he smiled at me as he led me toward the street. There was a red convertible parked on the street, one of those obviously expensive cars that every teenager with even a tiny desire to own a car wants. I was ready to just pass it by, but that was where he led me. It took me a moment to realize that that was _his_ car.

He opened the passenger side door for me and stepped back to allow me to sit down. I was sure I was going to make a fool of myself somehow, maybe get my dress caught in the door, or maybe just fall over while trying to sit down, but somehow I managed to get into the car without even a single incident. He closed the door, checking to make sure there was nothing in the way first, and then went around to the driver's side.

By then I was even more sure that I was making a huge mistake not telling him that I was male. He was being the ultimate gentleman, much more than any other high school student I'd ever met. And he was so beautiful... I felt wrong for not telling him, which was almost like lying to him, since I knew very well he thought I was female.

But I _still_ couldn't bring myself to burst the bubble. After all, it was just too perfect. It felt nice to be treated like a beautiful lady, even if that wasn't what I was. It was nice to be treated special, instead of like the school freak, and I knew that if I told him I was male that special treatment would go away. So, I stayed quiet.

I didn't even know where he was taking me. He could have changed his attitude completely at that point, and I probably wouldn't have noticed one bit. Even if he had suddenly started the car and driven me to some slum to do unspeakable things, I wouldn't have cared. His gentlemanly act had won me over completely, and I was almost at cloud nine.

Of course, he didn't do any of those horrid things. Instead, he started the car, and gracefully pulled away from the curb. If I'd been watching the streets, instead of staring worshipfully at his profile (which is what I _was_ doing), I would have noticed that we were making a beeline for a nearby movie theater. As it was, I didn't notice the destination until he pulled into a parking space and announced, "We have arrived."

I blinked at that, and it actually took me a while to pull my gaze away from him. He didn't seem to mind the staring either, almost as if he was used to it and almost expected it. When I finally did that, I noticed where we were, and I sent up a silent plea that he wouldn't be disappointed in my taste for movies.

I hate to admit it sometimes, but I like a good action movie. It doesn't fit with my "girlish" image, but that's what I like. I like the sappy romances too, but nowhere near as much as something with a little action. At that moment, seeing where Sai had taken me, I realized that that wasn't a very good thing for the "lady" he thought I was.

"What are we going to see?" I asked him, trying to push down my nervousness.

He named a movie. To be honest, I don't remember what movie it was anymore. I just remember that it wasn't quite a romance, but that it was _definitely_ not an action movie either. It was a refined movie, one that fit with his image, if not with my tastes.

As I said, I don't remember what the movie was called. This is probably because I spent most of the movie either watching his face (watching him be so intent on the movie, which he was, was definitely a highlight of the night) or staring at my feet nervously, trying to convince myself that I wasn't a horrible person for not telling him I was male. I did watch parts of the movie, even if I don't remember what happened.

What I remember most vividly is that at some point during the movie I leaned against him, and he put his arm around my shoulders (at least I think I leaned first...it might have been the other way around). The chair's arm was in the way, but it was still quite comfortable, and I have absolutely no idea what possessed me to do it. It was all I could do to keep from jumping away in embarrassment when the movie ended and I realized what I'd done. He didn't seem to mind it though, and we sat there for a few moments while the credits ran before separating and getting up.

Then he drove me home. I tried to convince him to drop me off at the park, where we had met, but he refused. It was dark by then, and he didn't want to leave me alone in the park in the dark. He insisted on dropping me off at the house.

"Thank you for a wonderful evening," he said, kissing the back of my hand gently before I could exit the car. "Perhaps we could do it again some night?"

"I'd love to," I managed to say, for once without stammering or blushing.

"Are you free Saturday?" he asked me. I nodded. "Perhaps we could do dinner?"

"That would be great," I said.

"Very well then," he replied. "Would 7:00 again be too late?"

"No," I said.

"Then, I shall pick you up at seven on Saturday," he said, before I could tell him not to come to the house. I was afraid Genrou would get involved, but it was too late. "Farewell, Kourin."

I waved numbly as he pulled away. His use of the name I had given me had just made all of my carefully built excuses not to tell him I was male come crashing down. I had sworn to myself a little over a year ago that I would never use the name Kourin again, that I would never pretend to be a female again, yet there I was, letting my dream guy call me "fair lady" and Kourin.

I felt both exhilarated from a wonderful date and like the worst scum on earth when I entered the house. I was almost floating from the happiness, and that was what showed the most. That was certainly what Genrou saw when he looked up from making a sandwich to see me enter.

"What's with ya?" he asked me. "And who was that in the fancy car?"

"That was Sai..." I said, my voice more than a little dreamy. "The most wonderful person on Earth."

"Wait, ya went on that date of yours in _that_?" he asked.

"Of course," I said. "What else would I wear?"

"Some pants," he said. "Most girls wouldn't be caught dead with a date who's wearing a _dress_."

I didn't say anything, just gave him a rather pointed look. He stared at me for a moment, and then it actually dawned on him what it meant for me to get back from a date, wearing a dress. It was almost funny to watch his face while it happened. He probably would have choked had he been eating the sandwich he was making.

"Yer gay, aren't ya?" he asked me bluntly.

"It took you this long to figure that out?" I shot back. "I've only been discussing cute guys with my friends for years now."

"That doesn't mean anything," he said. "Guys usually don't like other guys ya know. Or did ya forget that?"

"I know that!" I exclaimed. "I just didn't really think about that until after I was Ryuuen again. Before that I was just one of the girls, and that was normal."

"So ya spent so long pretendin' to be a girl that it turned ya gay?" he asked.

"No, but you wouldn't understand if I tried to explain it to you anyway," I said.

"If ya say so," he said. "So that guy ya were with, he's gay too? Some rich gay boy with a fancy car?"

"No!" I exclaimed, and he gave me a funny look. "I mean, he...ummm...doesn't know I'm a guy yet... He thought I was a girl, and I couldn't bring myself to tell him because he's...well..."

"Hot?" he asked as I trailed off, too embarrassed to continue.

"More like beautiful," I said, and he snorted. "Anyway, he doesn't know I'm a guy...so I guess that makes him straight."

"He's gonna hate ya when he finds out," he said. I stared at the floor.

"I know," I said.

"Yer one screwed up guy, ya know that?" he said.

"I know," I repeated. As he sliced his sandwich in half, I started up the stairs toward our room. Before I got too far though, I thought of something and turned back. "Oh, and Gen-chan?" I said in my sweetest voice.

"What?" he asked, scowling at the "Gen-chan."

"If Sai finds out that I'm Ryuuen and not Kourin," I said, smiling sweetly and putting as much venom in my voice as I possibly could, "And it's not because I told him myself, you'll wish you were dead."

The attempt to threaten him must have worked, because he did choke on his sandwich this time. Once he was breathing normally again he swallowed nervously and nodded at me. All smiles again, I floated up the stairs happily to get ready for bed.


	4. the guy in the trench coat

AUTHORS NOTE:

The stuff from part 1 still applies. This is my first try at fanfiction ever, so I'm a little worried about OOCness. Of course, this is a reincarnation fic, and because they have lived different lives this time around, they won't be exactly the same. For those who for some reason haven't read the first three parts (why you'd do that, I don't know...it would confuse me, and I wrote it!), or don't remember, Nuriko and Tasuki are brothers in this story, twins.

Whee, it's been less than a month since I put out part 3!! I'm going to _try_ not to disappear for another year after putting out this and the part after it...especially considering I already have much of part 6 written. Thank you, thank you, thank you!! to the kind people who left reviews after I added part 3, they make me happy!!

The title is still very much subject to change...and still has no basis in the story yet, though it will eventually. And, I love feedback! I crave feedback. I don't necessarily need it to write...but I have found that, like anime, it is addictive. That, and it makes me feel like people are actually _reading_ my story!! So...feedback GOOOOOOOOOD! Especially feedback about how I'm doing the characters...

-

DISCLAIMER:

Nuriko/Ryuuen, Tasuki/Genrou/Shun'u, Kouji, the guy toward the end of this part who is unnamed, and Hotohori/Saihitei don't belong to me. Fushigi Yuugi doesn't belong to me. Eventually, once everyone else shows up, they won't belong to me either. I'm just borrowing them and playing with them (and giving Nuriko what he wants…Hotohori!) Suing me would do no good, because after losing my scholarship for college I have almost no money, except for that which I am saving to go to Anime Central with my friends here at school in May.

Himitsu on the other hand is mine, ALL MINE!!!!! I haven't let anyone take him yet...and I'm not about to either. The person in the trench coat is mine too, so that person's off limits too (and his/her identity is revealed in this part, yay!). All others so far are just random characters, and if you take them I won't be too angry, but if you can't come up with your own random characters that's pretty sad...

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chapter 4: the guy in the trench coat

Over the next month I went on dates with Sai two of three nights each week. I never got up the courage to tell him I was male, and with each date it got harder. It didn't help that he seemed more beautiful each time I saw him either.

He was always the perfect gentleman too. Even when I tried to pay my way, he insisted on paying for everything. I never had to open a door when with him either. And, even once we started sharing a deep farewell kiss at the end of a date instead of a polite kiss to the back of my hand, he never tried to press his advantage and cop a feel. That was always a relief.

I learned some of his imperfections too. He was a perfectionist. He couldn't stand anything that made him seem normal, since he was anything but that. And, he was the greatest fan of his own beauty, which made him the biggest narcissist I'd ever seen.

But I was still falling in love with him. A big part of it was the dreams. I kept having them, even though I'd met him in real life. If I'd thought they were getting a little hot _before_ I met him, they were beyond erotic by then. He _always_ knew I was male in my dreams, and he never seemed to mind. And that was one of the things that made me feel so guilty about not telling him in real life.

I don't think Genrou ever quite accepted that I was regularly dating a guy. Every single time he saw me leave for a date or come back from one, he would tell me I was insane. I never introduced him to Sai, mostly because I didn't trust him not to tell Sai about my gender, despite my little warning. I never even told Mom I was dating, since I knew she wouldn't understand.

-

At the same time I was plodding through my senior year of high school. It was boring, except for Himitsu-sensei's class. He was the most popular teacher in the school by then, because his classes were interesting, and because he was _nice_. My habit of calling him Himitsu-sensei had caught on after the first day too, so almost everyone in the school called him that. Genrou was one of the few who didn't.

I also saw the person in the trench coat a lot, every single day I bothered to look in fact. He (or she) always waited for Himitsu-sensei after school, no matter whether it was raining, boiling, or just nice weather outside. I was tempted to introduce myself at times, mostly just so I could find out who he (or she) was, but I never did. Every time I had myself ready to do it, Himitsu-sensei came out, and they left.

And then one day I got to meet him. Genrou almost got in a fight that day, and the guy in the trench coat was the one who stopped it. I wasn't involved, but I was nearby, waiting for my friends to get out of the building, when it happened.

It happened right after school. Genrou and Kouji were about to take off for the day. He'd been really good about going to school and behaving since school started that year; he hadn't skipped or gotten in a single fight at all. And then, the leader of one of the groups who used to piss Genrou off all the time just for fun decided it was time to start again. They'd been pretty quite since Genrou had returned.

"Hey Gen-rooooooooou," the guy drawled lazily. "I saw your freaky brother on a date with some pretty boy last night. Guess you rubbed off on him, huh? Like brother, like," he paused to snicker, "sister?"

I never thought someone from school would see me on one of my dates with Sai. The places he took me weren't the kind of places the others at my school would go to on any kind of regular basis, or even at all. Sai had money, so the restaurants we went to were only the really expensive ones, like the French place we were at the night before. The guy who saw us _definitely_ couldn't afford to eat there, so I wondered what he had been doing there.

Genrou turned bright red. I could almost see the steam rising off of him as his temper rose. At the same time, I saw what I thought was a guilty look flash across his face. Kouji tried to get him to just ignore it and go on, but he pulled away with a look on his face that said he was just _dying_ for an excuse to beat the guy to a bloody pulp.

"What didja say?" he asked, walking toward the guy. He reached into his backpack and casually pulled out the _last_ thing I ever suspected he would bring into a fight.

It was an old metal fan, a tessen, that Baa-san had left him in her will when she died. He'd loved it when we were kids, just as much as I'd loved the old pair of bracelets she left me. (I'm still not sure why she gave them to me either, since she refused to accept my trying to be female.) I thought he had more respect for the tessen, that he wouldn't bring it to a simple fight. I wasn't even sure why he had it with him.

The guy's response was nasty. I don't want to repeat it, since the nicest word he used was "fag," and most of it offends my no-so-ladylike sensibilities. That caused Genrou to snap, no surprise there.

He shouted a string of obscenities that would make a sailor blush. I'm pretty sure he didn't know most of those before reform school, and I'm almost certain some of them were physically impossible. Then, he pulled back his arm (the one holding the tessen) like was going to throw something. He was still at least five feet away from the guy, so I guessed he was going to throw the tessen at him before jumping at him and beating him senseless like he normally did.

Before any of us knew it, the guy in the trench coat was in front of Genrou, grabbing his arm and forcing it down with one hand, and putting his other hand over Genrou's mouth. I hadn't been paying attention to him, since I'd been too busy watching Genrou. Genrou struggled, but the guy didn't let him go and just stared at him steadily. It wasn't a glare, but it did make Genrou settle down a little.

"You should know better than to use that on a person," he said, and his baritone voice confirmed that he was male. I wasn't at the right angle to see his face though.

Genrou tried to reply, but with his mouth covered all that came out were muffled noises. I had the feeling that his reply was every bit as obscene as what he'd shouted at the guy who pissed him off. That guy decided to use the chance to get away, but I felt that I should help Genrou out a little.

I wasn't too far from the guy, and I was behind him. So, as he ran by me, away from Genrou and the guy in the trench coat, I snagged his arm and held on tight. He dragged me a couple feet, but I'm a lot stronger than I look, so he didn't get far.

"Are you done now?" the guy in the trench coat asked once the muffled curses died down. "Your brother had the guy you were going to get, so can I trust you enough to let go?"

Genrou nodded, and the guy released him. Just as that happened, Himitsu-sensei walked out of the school, and immediately stopped as he saw the guy in the trench coat by Genrou and me holding the guy who started it all. He then continued toward us, this time at a much slower pace.

"Just what happened here, Dev?" he asked the guy in the trench coat.

"I stopped your student from making a rather stupid mistake after that guy made some...colorful comments about his sexual preferences," the guy replied, pointing at the one I held as he said "that guy."

"Oh," Himitsu-sensei said. Then he went over to me. "You can let go of him now Ryuuen," he told me. "I'll take care of him." I let the guy go and was very surprised when he didn't try to run again. Himitsu-sensei led him into the school saying he'd be right back. Then the guy in the trench coat headed over to me, and Genrou took _his_ chance to run.

"Thank you for grabbing him," he said. "I've seen you watching me every so often. I'm Devin James." He stuck out his hand in greeting, and I noticed that he had very sharp looking fingernails.

From that distance I could see his face, though parts of it were obscured by the hat. He had an almost delicate, though definitely male, face. It was a young handsome face, with a different kind of beauty than Himitsu-sensei's and Sai's. The shadow of his hat made it so I couldn't tell what color his eyes were, and his hair was almost hidden. (It looked like that was on purpose.) A few strands had escaped around his face though, and they were pale green. I wondered if his hair was natural (like mine), or just a good dye job.

"I'm Ryuuen Chou," shaking his hand, but feeling a little odd doing so. It was weird actually talking to him after watching him for so long. "I don't suppose it would be okay for me to ask why you were wearing a trench coat in the kind of heat we had a month ago, would it?" He laughed.

"I don't mind," he said lightly. "Everyone asks me that question, even the people who already know the reason. Unfortunately, I think Himitsu would probably kill me if I told you it. He doesn't want to get any of his students involved in it, and I agree with him."

"Oh," I said, just as Himitsu-sensei came back out of the school.

"I passed him off to someone else," he told Devin. "I didn't want to get stuck here all day long. You ready to go?"

"Yeah," Devin replied. I don't know exactly what it was about them, but they seemed very comfortable with each other. I suspected they were more than just friends, not that that bothered me.

"It was nice meeting you Ryuuen," Devin said to me as Himitsu-sensei waved goodbye. Then they started to walk off, only to stop as Himitsu-sensei turned back to me.

"Oh, Ryuuen," he said. "Could you tell your brother that I'd like to talk to him before first hour tomorrow? It's not about anything bad, so he doesn't have to worry about that."

"Okay," I said, and that time they really did leave.

-

Genrou was nowhere to be found when I got home later that night. Mom had no idea where he was, so I decided I could give him Himitsu-sensei's message before bed, or in the morning if I had to. I wasn't about to wait for him at the time, because I had some shopping to do.

I had a date with Sai planned for the next day. I'd gotten into the habit of getting him little presents for each date. They weren't big or expensive, just little things that made me think of him when I saw them, and I knew he could buy things that were much better, but he said he really liked them. I used the money I made babysitting to get the things, and I felt it was a good use for the money.

I knew exactly what I wanted to get him that time too. I'd see it in the window of a craft shop just past the park the day before, and I though it was beautiful, perfect for Sai. It was a braided hair tie, very simple, but hand made. It was red, gold, and purple, colors that made me think of Sai when I saw it.

So I had decided to get it for him. That meant I needed to hurry to get to the shop before it closed, since I got home later than I thought I would. It was normally a ten minute walk from home, but I made it in five that day and had plenty of time to spare.

As I left the store, cradling the bag with Sai's present in it, I crashed into someone. I lost my balance and chose to let myself fall instead of dropping the present and flinging out my arms so I could stay standing. He fell over too, which I thought was only fair after he almost caused me to drop Sai's present.

When I got up he was still down, so I got a good chance to look him over. He was Japanese and around his early twenties. I figured he was a student at the nearby university, since he was the right age, and there weren't a lot of Japanese (besides us) in the area. A wave of déjà vu washed over me as I stuck my hound out to help him up. He looked familiar, though I was pretty sure I'd never met him before.

"Are you okay?" I asked. He nodded as he shifted his weight on the ground and then turned to me to accept my help. I knew exactly when he saw me, because his eyes grew wide, about the size and shape of saucers, and he gasped in surprise.

"Nuriko?" he asked me, his voice sounding shocked and incredulous.


	5. nuriko

AUTHORS NOTE:

The stuff from part 1 still applies to this part too. This is my first try at fanfiction ever, so I'm a little worried about OOCness. Of course, this is a reincarnation fic, and because they have lived different lives this time around, they won't be exactly the same. For those who for some reason haven't read the first four parts (why you'd do that, I don't know), or don't remember, Nuriko and Tasuki are brothers in this story, twins.

Can't complain about cliffhangers between part four and this one, considering I'm putting them up together! Reviews are always fun!

The title is still very much subject to change...and still has no basis in the story yet, though it will eventually (I think I'm trying for the part after next or the one after that one at the moment). And, I love feedback! I crave feedback. I don't necessarily need it to write...but I have found that, like anime, it is addictive. That, and it makes me feel like people are actually _reading_ my story!! So...feedback GOOOOOOOOOD! Especially feedback about how I'm doing the characters...

-

DISCLAIMER:

Nuriko/Ryuuen, Tasuki/Genrou/Shun'u, Kouji, and Hotohori/Saihitei don't belong to me. Neither do the two others who have just shown up and will show up shortly respectively but haven't actually been named yet... Fushigi Yuugi doesn't belong to me. Eventually, once everyone else shows up, they won't belong to me either. I'm just borrowing them and playing with them (and giving Nuriko what he wants…Hotohori!) Suing me would do no good, because after losing my scholarship for college and buying books for this year I have pretty much no money to spare. (Well, except for that which I am saving to use when going to Anime Central in May...but you can't have that!)

Himitsu and Devin on the other hand are mine, ALL MINE!!!!! I haven't let anyone take them yet...and I'm not about to either. All others so far are just random characters, and if you take them I won't be too angry, but if you can't come up with your own random characters that's pretty sad...

-

Oh yeah, in this chapter, the stuff between the // and // is a dream!

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Chapter 5: Nuriko

That name sent a jolt through me. I recognized it. It was what the dream version of Sai called me. But, outside of my dreams I'd never been called that name, ever. So when the oddly familiar stranger I'd just knocked down called me by it, I panicked and ran.

I left him sitting on the ground and ran. I didn't stop until I was a black from home. I wanted to catch my breath before I got home, so Mom wouldn't think anything was wrong, or I would have run the whole way. So, I stopped, smoothed out my skirt, which was still wrinkled from my fall, and started down the street at a slower pace.

I stopped again when I heard Genrou's voice shouting from in front of our house. He sounded angry, though I couldn't quite make out his words. He was standing there on the sidewalk, shouting at a guy our age with pale blue hair and bangs that seemed to defy gravity. (I swear, it was one of the oddest hairstyles I'd ever seen.) For the second time that night, I had the feeling of déjà vu.

Genrou seemed to know him well, which made me curious. I'd never seen him before, despite how familiar he seemed. I decided to sneak forward as quietly as I could, so I could hear what they were saying. I didn't catch the other guy's response, but by the time Genrou started again I was pretty close, and well within range to hear everything else, so I stopped.

"Of course I was gonna use the tessen on the asshole!" Genrou yelled, and I realized he was talking about that afternoon. "Ya gotta use every weapon ya have in a fight. Ya know that! Anyway, I didn't get to do it, 'cause that freak in the trench coat stopped me. He _knew_ what I was gonna do!"

"That's a good thing, Tasuki," the other guy said. I recognized that name too, even though I hadn't heard it in my dreams. I didn't know where it came from, but I did recognize it. That caused me to drop the bag holding Sai's present, just as Genrou started yelling again.

"Dammit all, don't call me that!" he exclaimed, but the blue haired guy heard my bag hit the grass I was standing on and turned to face me. He looked surprised.

"Nuriko, no da," he said. At that moment, having yet another complete strange use the name that I felt belonged in my dreams, so only the dream Sai could say it, made me lose my temper.

"My name is Ryuuen," I snapped, picking up my bag and stomping all the way to the house. I paused at the door to give Genrou his message. "Oh, Genrou, Himitsu-sensei wants to talk to you tomorrow before school. He says it's not bad. Good night."

As I marched into the room, I heard the blue haired guy make a comment to Genrou. "You never mentioned that your brother was Nuriko." That made me slam the door behind me.

-

That night I dreamed, and it wasn't about Sai...for the first time since I met him in real life.

//I was crying in my palace rooms that night. No matter how many times I saw it, when Hotohori-sama made it clear that he waned only Miaka, as he had that night, it broke my heart. I knew I should just give up on wanting him, but I couldn't

But why would he want a freak like me anyway? He deserved a real woman, a beauty who had charm and grace, like I tried to be, not a little girl like Miaka. He deserved the kind of woman Kourin would have been if she'd gotten the chance to grow up, the way I tried to be for her. He was definitely too good for me.

So there I was, crying my eyes out over a man who was by far too good for me. That was how Tasuki found me that night. He'd heard by sobs and followed them to find my slumped to the ground, my robes almost ruined from the dirt and tears on them.

"Ya look like shit Nuriko," he told me, almost lightly, when I looked up to find him standing the doorway staring at me.

"Go away," I said bitterly. "Hotohori-sama already hates me. I don't need to mocking me too. After all, nobody likes a freak like me."

"That ain't true!" he exclaimed.

"Oh?" I asked. "I was a bitch to Miaka, so she hates me. Same with Tamahome, especially after the stunt I pulled when we first met. Hotohori-sama is terrified of me because I'm a freak, and so's the rest of the palace. _Everyone_ hates me."

"I don't hate ya," he said.

"Sure," I shot back. "Like I'll believe _that_ after you tell me I look like shit?"

"Ya _do_ look like shit right now," he said. Then he strode into the room, grabbed my shoulders, and looked into my eyes. His voice came out determined and fierce with his next words. "But I _don't_ hate ya. It's pretty much the opposite. I think I'm fallin' in love with ya."

I couldn't blow off his words, not with the fierce way he said them. Instead, I let myself try to believe them and tried to believe that there was actually someone who liked _me_. It was hard.

Then I took a good look at Tasuki; at his flame red hair, at his face, and at his muscled body, proof of his years as a Mt. Leikaku bandit. He wasn't Hotohori-sama, with his sheer _beauty_, but he was still quite good looking. And he _cared_.

I threw myself forward into his arms and started sobbing again. It wasn't that I loved him back, thought I was pretty sure it would develop if given a little time. I just wanted someone to hold me then. He was there, and he cared. That was enough for me.

"Oi, Nuriko, what's wrong now?" he asked worriedly. He sounded confused, and lost. "Did I say something wrong?"

I had the sudden desire to be called by something other than Nuriko. Nuriko was a shichiseishi...a warrior. Nuriko was the one who had the courage to face the others calmly, even though he was nothing in the eyes of the one he loved. That wasn't me. I couldn't be like that at that moment.

"Don't call me that," I said, my voice muffled in his chest.

"Don't call ya what?" he asked.

"Nuriko," I said. "Don't call me Nuriko."

"But that's yer name," he said. He sounded confused.

"Not it isn't," I said. "My name is Ryuuen...call me that, please?"

"Why?" he asked.

"Because I don't think I can handle being Nuriko tonight," I said. "Because I haven't been just Ryuuen in a long time..."

He was silent for a few moments, patting my back comfortingly as I sobbed. Then, he pulled me closer suddenly and embraced me tighter. "I understand, Ryuuen," he said.

And then he pulled up my chin and kissed me.//

I woke with a sinking, revolted feeling in my stomach. The dream had continued beyond the kiss, to activities that I would never tell the details of, even if they hadn't been with someone who looked just like my twin brother. I knew, not just because the blue haired guy had called him by that name, that Tasuki and Genrou were the same. The thought of sleeping with him made me feel sick.

It was the middle of the night when I woke up. I laid there, trying to get back to sleep, but I couldn't get that dream out of my head. Finally, I decided I needed to get out of bed and walk for a while.

-

I tried not to talk to Genrou that day. I felt uncomfortable after that dream. I was terrified that I would mention it, and if I did mention it I know I'd die of embarrassment. It was bad enough that Mom asked me if I was feeling all right at breakfast that morning.

I wore pants to school that day. They were part of an outfit my friends had convinced me to buy a few months earlier. I wore the whole outfit that day, even though it was form fitting in places and made it very clear that I was male. I think I wore it because of that. I wanted to be different that day.

I almost gave Mom a heart attack when I went down to breakfast too. I think she thought I might start being her son again (instead of her daughter) since I hadn't worn pants in her presence since I tried to take Kourin's place.

Both Himitsu-sensei and Genrou were gone from school that day. That should have made me worried, since I knew Genrou had left to talk with Himitsu-sensei that morning. Instead, it made me feel relieved. I didn't have to talk to Genrou if he wasn't there. Himitsu-sensei's sub was awful, but I was too worked up to have fun in Himitsu-sensei's class even if he was there.

I saw Sai that afternoon too. He was standing on the sidewalk outside of school, watching people as we got out of school. I guessed he was looking for me. I didn't remember telling him where I went to school, but he did know that I went to a public school, and the school was the one assigned to my area.

I didn't even notice him at first. I was surrounded by my friends, who had almost all decided I was a pretty good looking guy, when I wore something with legs. I had no idea Sai was there until someone started squealing when she noticed him. Everyone in the group followed her finger once she started pointing.

"Oh my God, that's Sai!" she exclaimed. She had friends who went to Sai's school and had told her about him.

"Isn't he the really rich one who goes to Amanda's school?" someone else asked. By then, I'd seen him and was running full speed toward the school, after whispering, "I forgot something," to Sara, who was the person next to me.

I couldn't let him see me in what I was wearing. I felt guilty for not telling him, but I couldn't let him find out that way. I wanted to hope otherwise, but I was pretty sure he wouldn't take that kind of news well.

-

Genrou was still gone when I went home so I could change for my date. I wasn't worried. I was still too unsettled from the dream and busy hoping that Sai hadn't seen me to be worried about him.

I found out right away that Sai had seen me. He hadn't known it was me though. He thought he'd seen the twin brother I'd told him about, Genrou. The only thing that kept me from laughing in his face when he told me that was sheer willpower.

Everything about the night after that was perfect, except for one thing. He took me to a movie again that night, another strange one that no one I knew besides Sai would ever go to. He was a perfect gentleman, as always. Then, I gave him his gift.

"Nuriko, this is beautiful!" he exclaimed after he opened it. I froze at the name, and he got a concerned look on his face. "Is something wrong?"

"W-where did you hear that name?" I asked him.

"I don't know," he said. "It just popped into my head. I think it suits you though."

"You're the third person who's called me that in the last day Sai," I said. "Why does everyone keep calling me that?"

"I won't do it again if it bothers you," he replied, and then the night went back to being perfect.

Later that night, while he was driving me home, I made a decision. When he escorted me to the door, I got ready to tell him. Then, before he bent over to kiss me good night, I put a finger to his lips. He pulled back to look at me questioningly.

"There's only one person I want to call me Nuriko," I said. "You." Then he kissed me.


	6. not there

AUTHORS NOTE:

The stuff from part 1 still applies to this part too. This is my first try at fanfiction ever, so I'm a little worried about OOCness. Of course, this is a reincarnation fic, and because they have lived different lives this time around, they won't be exactly the same. For those who for some reason haven't read the first five parts (why you'd do that, I don't know), or don't remember, Nuriko and Tasuki are brothers in this story, twins.

Sorry about the big delay between part five and this one... I've been busy...and just a little stuck in the middle of this part. This is a kinda long one, because I wanted to put the two scenes corresponding to the title of this part in, and I needed the explanation in there too...that took a lot.

The title is still very much subject to change...and still has no basis in the story, though it will eventually (I think I'm trying for the part after next at the moment). And, I love feedback! I crave feedback. I don't necessarily need it to write...but I have found that, like anime, it is addictive. That, and it makes me feel like people are actually _reading_ my story!! So...feedback GOOOOOOOOOD! Especially feedback about how I'm doing the characters...

-

DISCLAIMER:

Nuriko/Ryuuen, Tasuki/Genrou/Shun'u, Kouji, Hotohori/Sai Hitei, and Chichiri/Houjun don't belong to me. Neither does the stranger who everyone should recognize (considering Nuriko identified him)... Fushigi Yuugi doesn't belong to me. Eventually, once everyone else shows up, they won't belong to me either. I'm just borrowing them and playing with them (and giving Nuriko what he wants…Hotohori!) Suing me would do no good, because after leaving school and having to start paying back my loans in less than a year I have pretty much no money to spare. (Well, except for that which I am saving to use when going to Anime Central in May...but you can't have that!)

Himitsu and Devin on the other hand are mine, ALL MINE!!!!! I haven't let anyone take them yet...and I'm not about to either. All others so far are just random characters, and if you take them I won't be too angry, but if you can't come up with your own random characters that's pretty sad...

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Chapter 6: not there

Genrou spent a lot of time away from the house during the next two weeks. I knew he wasn't doing what he usually did, because Kouji kept asking me if I knew where he was. That next day after my date I saw him leave school with Himitsu-sensei and Devin. Another day I saw him with the blue haired guy, at the mall I think.

I wasn't really worried about Genrou's absence. Besides that one day, he hadn't missed any school, and he wasn't getting into trouble, so I didn't really care that he was never home. Actually, it made me more comfortable not having to see him.

I'd had more weird dreams besides the one of him and me, one every night since then. They were confusing, like bits and pieces of a movie taken at random and out of order. They seemed very real, more like memories than dreams. And they starred mostly people I knew in real life, or had at least seen.

I was Nuriko in the dreams. Genrou was Tasuki, and Sai was Hotohori, the one I'd been crying over during the first one. The blue haired guy was in them too, as Chichiri. So was the guy I'd run into the night I bought Sai's hair tie. He was Taka, though sometimes he had teal hair and was called Tamahome. I wasn't quite sure why.

I never saw enough in the dreams to figure out what was going on. All I really knew was that Hotohori was an emperor (I was very much in love with him), Tasuki was a bandit (I fell in love with him eventually), Chichiri was a monk (I wasn't in love with him), Tamahome (not sure about Taka) was obsessed with money, and we, along with some others that I hadn't seen in real life, were somehow tied to someone named Suzaku. (I couldn't quite tell if this Suzaku was a person or a bird too.) I knew everything during the dreams, but when I woke up it was all gone, except for a few bits and pieces.

The dreams bothered me. It wasn't just that Tasuki/Genou and I were sleeping together during several of them. (Even if it didn't happen during any dreams but the first, I knew it was the case during some of them.) It wasn't that Hotohori/Sai didn't love me, or even notice me that way either. It was that they seemed so real.

The one that bothered me the most didn't even have anyone else I knew there. It happened on a snowy mountain. I was there for some important reason, though I couldn't remember that reason when I woke up. It was cold, and I was trying to move a huge boulder when a creature attacked me.

His name was Ashitare, and I remember he was an enemy of ours. We fought up there on the mountain, and I ended up hurt really badly. I might have been okay if I hadn't moved the boulder after the fight, or I might have been doomed anyway. I'm not sure. It didn't matter in the end, since I had to move that boulder and I was the only one who could do it.

That boulder should have been too heavy for any person to move. I don't know how I was able to do it, but in the dream I knew I could, and I knew I was the only one who could. The dream ended right after that, but I knew what happened next. I didn't actually experience it, but I'd dreamed of my own death.

-

Two weeks after the first dream, I was dreaming for the second time about sleeping with Tasuki/Genrou. This time we were in his room in the palace. We weren't actually doing anything yet, just a little foreplay. I moaned his name, and then moments later I felt a hand shaking me roughly. Someone was growling my name in the real world.

"Oi Ryuuen, wake the fuck up!" Genrou was growling as I woke up. He glared at me as I blinked sleepily and yawned.

"You woke me up," I said fuzzily. I was never at my best right after being woken up. At the moment, even that dream seemed better than being awake, so I tried to pull the sheets back over my head and go back to sleep. To my surprise, he couldn't keep his grip on the sheets, and I ended up yanking too hard.

"Dammit Ryuuen, what the hell were ya dreamin' about?" he yelled once he realized I was trying to go back to sleep.

"Nothing important," I muttered, trying to ignore him.

"It didn't sound like 'nothing important,'" he said. "Ya know, I don't mind ya havin' some hot dreams about guys. What I do mind is ya havin' those dreams about _me_." That caused me to sit up straight and stare at him. I felt my cheeks growing warm. I realized I must have been talking in my sleep.

"I was _not_ dreaming about you," I said, though my blush probably wasn't doing much to convince him of that.

"Look, Nuriko," he said, and I stiffened when he used that name. I don't think he meant to use it, or even realized it when he did. "I think we both know damn well that ya _were_ dreamin' about me, so don't lie to me."

I wasn't sure if I wanted to cry, to shout at him, or to run away. I didn't _want_ to be this Nuriko person and have slept with Tasuki, who seemed to be the same as Genrou. I didn't want to face it either. But, at the same time, I was pissed off at Genrou for reminding me. I wanted to run away too, because I didn't want to face him. I ended up choosing both the first the second choices. I cried _and_ shouted.

"I am _not_ Nuriko!" I shouted at him as the tears started. "I have never cried in your arms, or kissed you. You're my _brother_, not my lover!" He stared at me for a few moments. It seemed like he knew what I was saying, that he understood. Then he reached out, to comfort me I think.

"So, yer startin' to remember, are ya?" he asked.

At that moment I didn't want Genrou touching me. I wanted him to yell at me, to say what I just said was as disturbing to him as I thought it was. I _didn't_ want him to act like it was expected. I didn't want him to understand and try to comfort me. So, I ran.

Genrou grabbed my arm as I tried to get by him and out of the room. His grip on my arm was tight, so I pulled away, to get him off balance, and then shoved him away from me. He went flying forward, much farther than he should have. I recognized that kind of strength I'd put into that shove. It was the strength that I had in the dreams, Nuriko's strength.

I ran out of the room, then out of the house. I was still in my pajamas (flannel pants and an old t-shirt that I was borrowing from Genrou because I forgot to do my laundry and didn't have any clean pajamas at the moment), but I didn't notice the chill, even though it was late October by then and starting to get chilly at night. I was too busy running to notice, until I crashed into a tree and fell to the ground with a thud.

It was then that I started to shiver. It was also then that I realized I had reached the park. It was the middle of the night, so there was no one around, but once I realized where I was, I suddenly was extremely conscious of what I was wearing. I felt like there were people staring at me from the shadows, and I wanted to be somewhere less public.

Without thinking, I searched the pockets of the pants I was borrowing for change so I could call Sai. I didn't even think about the fact that I was wearing something that would not hide my gender very well. I just wanted to be away from there, and I was pretty sure that he would come get me, so I wouldn't have to go back home, where Genrou was. That was all that was on my mind as I dug out the coins I found in the pocket, deposited them into a nearby payphone, and dialed Sai's number.

"Hello?" was the answer on the other end. It was Mary, Sai's family's live-in housekeeper. She didn't sound like I'd woken her up, but I probably had. I'd met her a few times, and I was pretty sure she would recognize my voice.

"Is Sai there?" I asked.

"Kourin, is that you?" she asked me. That was enough to shock me into realizing what I was getting myself into by calling Sai. Unfortunately, I couldn't just hang up, not after asking for Sai and having her recognize me. My stomach tried to sink to my feet as I answered her.

"Yes, it's me," I said. "Is he there?"

"I'm afraid he never came home last night," she said, and I managed to feel both relieved and disappointed at the same time. I wouldn't have to worry about him finding out, since he wasn't home. But at the same time, I wanted him to get me out of there...and he couldn't do that if he wasn't home.

"I will tell him that you called when he returns though," she continued.

"No...that's fine," I told her. "I'll be okay, and I guess I can talk to him tonight. Thanks anyway, bye."

I gave her a chance to say goodbye before I hung up the phone, but then I slumped to the ground. My relief at not having Sai find out just wasn't enough to overcome the exposed feeling I was having, or the discomfort from what had happened at home. I wanted Sai with me. I wanted someone to tell me that what I had been dreaming wasn't real, and I thought that Sai would be that someone. But he wasn't there, and I was going to have to head back home soon if I wanted to get out of public.

I sat there for a few moments though, not quite crying, but close. I was partially trying to work up courage to go back and face Genrou again, though it wasn't coming easily. I had actually just gotten enough courage worked up when a shadow fell over me. The sinking feeling in my stomach told me without looking that it was Genrou.

"What the hell are ya doin' out here?" he asked me angrily when I turned to face him. "Are ya tryin' to freeze that girly ass of yours off or something?"

"I..." I said. He sighed, and then offered me a hand up.

"Come on," he said. "Why don't we go inside? Then we can explain some stuff to ya, since ya obviously haven't remembered it all yet."

I hesitated. I still didn't feel comfortable, or even right, in accepting my dreams. He wasn't supposed to be nice and understanding about it. He wasn't supposed to _explain_. He was supposed to blow up, just like he did whenever someone at school said he was gay. He was supposed to be _angry_.

He growled in frustration when he saw me hesitate. Then he reached forward, grabbed my arm, and hauled me to my feet. I didn't resist, or he probably wouldn't have been able to do it. Then he gripped my shoulders and glared at me. He looked angry, but not for the reason that he should have been angry about.

"Listen," he said tensely. "What we did back then _was not wrong_. We weren't brothers then, and there's nothin' wrong with two guys lovin' each other." He paused after that, as if he hadn't quite convinced himself of that, but then he continued. "Yer not bad because of it, so stop beatin' yourself up over it. It's all in the past, and as long as ya don't try to bring it back now there's nothin' wrong with it."

"I don't want to talk about it right now," I said. "I just want to be alone, to think."

"Like hell I'm gonna leave ya alone right now!" he shouted. "I'm not gonna stand around while ya freeze to death. It's too much like last time, and dammit Nuriko, no way in hell am I gonna lose ya again like that!"

I stared at him, my eyes wide. I knew what he was referring to, since I had dreamed it. I had died in the snow, even though it wasn't the snow that killed me. There wasn't snow on the ground in the park, but there was that hint in the air that told me that it would come soon. It felt like snow, and that terrified me, because I didn't want to remember that dream.

I yanked my arm out of Genrou's grip then. I didn't want to think about that time on the mountain, in the snow. I was fairly sure I wouldn't die from being out there that night, since it wasn't quite _that_ cold, but I didn't want to be around Genrou either. And most of all, I didn't want to talk about the dream I'd been having when he woke me up, even if he didn't seem to mind.

Genrou went sprawling, since I pulled with more strength than I expected again. He fell to the ground, which gave me the time I needed to get away from him. I ran, and managed to make it back to the house long before Genrou could. Once there, I rushed into the study and locked the door behind me.

There was no couch in the study, or anywhere comfortable to sleep, but I didn't really care at that point. I didn't want to have to face Genrou again, and I wasn't going to lock him out of our room just so I could avoid him. So, I'd be sleeping on the study floor, and hopefully I'd be able to get some clothing in the morning without him confronting me.

Genrou figured out where I was almost immediately after rushing back into the house. It wasn't that hard to guess where I was, since there weren't very many rooms for him to check, and the study was the only locked one. He pounded on the door, somehow managing not to wake Mom up when he did it, yelling for me to stop being an idiot and talk to him.

"No!" I shouted back, and that was all I said to him after that, even though he kept trying to get me to come out for another ten minutes. He finally gave up when he realized that I wasn't going to answer him, no matter how much he tried to get me to talk. But, after he went back to our room and got something (a pillow and blanket was my guess), he came back and settled down on the other side of the study door. I wasn't getting out of that room without him knowing it.

-

I didn't sleep anymore that night, even though I tried. I laid down on the floor not too long after Genrou started his vigil outside the door, trying to get at least a little rest so I wouldn't be half dead at school the next day. But, as soon as I closed my eyes I realized I was terrified of having another dream like the one Genrou had caught me in the middle of. Or, even worse, another dream of my death. I hoped that wouldn't happen, but just the possibility made it impossible for me to fall asleep again, and I lay there on the study floor, shivering, the rest of the night.

I tried to wait until Genrou started getting ready for school to emerge from the study. I figured I could avoid him if I stayed in there until he was getting dressed, after his shower. Unfortunately, he still hadn't gone to shower at 6:30, and by then it was starting to get late enough that I wouldn't have time to shower and get dressed before I had to leave if I didn't hurry up.

I hated the thought of going to school dirty. I almost hated the idea more than the idea of talking to Genrou. Since I thought I could make it out of study and to the bathroom without getting caught by Genrou if I moved fast enough, I decided to risk it.

I flung the door open with most of the unnatural strength that I had shown the night before, catching Genrou off guard. He was right in front of the door, so I ended up pushing him halfway down the hall, which gave me an opening to run for the bathroom. Mom gave me an odd look as I dashed past her and into the bathroom, locking the door behind me, but I ignored it, happy that I had managed to avoid Genrou for a while.

The trickiest part of avoiding him that morning was after I finished my shower. I needed to get into our room for clothing, since I couldn't go to school in my borrowed pajamas, and doing that would have defeated the purpose of taking a shower anyway, since they were dirty. Luckily, he was downstairs eating breakfast when I left the bathroom. That gave me the opportunity to rush into our room and dress hurriedly.

I skipped breakfast, since Genrou was down there when I finished getting dressed as well. He looked like he was waiting for me, as I saw when I ran through the kitchen to the door. Mom yelled at me to sit down and have some breakfast, but I continued, ignoring her. Genrou tried to grab me as I ran by, but I tore away from him, making him curse under his breath as I rushed past.

I ran ahead of Genrou to school, somehow managing not to trip on my skirt even though I came close a couple times. I managed to avoid him once at school by hiding with my friends. I tried to keep the dreams out of my mind, but every time I let my mind wander a little they came back. I got several comments from my friends on that, since I was more or less distracted the whole time.

I don't remember much of that morning. I was too busy being worried about the dreams, and Genrou finding me to make me talk about them, to pa y attention in class. I just drifted through school that morning, not learning anything in class, until lunchtime. I went out for lunch, hoping that Genrou wouldn't be able to find me if I left campus to go eat somewhere else.

I didn't go off campus for lunch very often. There weren't very many places within walking distance of the school, and I didn't have a car to drive anywhere. It was just easier to take a lunch with me, or occasionally buy from the cafeteria, and that way I got to spend time during lunch with my friends who weren't allowed to go off campus yet.

I went to McDonald's that day, since I knew that Genrou hated the place. I didn't like it all that much either, but that made it a better place to hide from Genrou, since he wouldn't expect me to go there. I ordered something that looked a little less soaked in grease than everything else they served and then sat down, too wound up to relax.

Unfortunately, I was so worked up over the dreams, and hoping that Genrou wouldn't figure out where I was, that I didn't notice the people around me in the restaurant. I wasn't watching for Genrou, because I knew that by the time he got in the building I wouldn't be able to get away from him in time, so I wasn't paying attention to anything but my food. That was how the blue haired guy that I had seen more than once with Genrou managed to get to be sitting on the other side of the table from me, looking serious, but not threatening.

"Nuriko, we need to talk," he said to me, and I got ready to run. He put his hand on my arm gently, obviously not to actually restrain me since he wasn't putting pressure on me. "Please don't run away. Tasuki is very worried about you. I told him I'd try to explain things, since you seemed very uncomfortable around him."

"I don't even know you," I said, standing up. "So why should I talk to you? And I already told you; my name isn't Nuriko. It's Ryuuen."

"Fine then, Ryuuen," he said. "Please, just hear me out. Your brother truly is worried about you. He knows you've been having the dreams, remembering things, and he wants to make sure that you get things explained to you before you have more. He doesn't want things to go for you the same way they did for him."

I sat back down. I think I stayed because he sounded so serious and concerned. He was soft spoken, and seemed so completely different from the always smiling Chichiri of my dreams, who he looked so much like.

When I started thinking about that, an image flashed into my mind. It was Chichiri, but he wasn't smiling. I realized then that the smiling face that Chichiri had in all of my dreams was a mask. I knew that in the dreams, though I had forgotten when I woke up. Behind the mask was the real Chichiri, who looked much more like the person sitting across the table from me, except that he was missing an eye.

"Fine, I'll listen to what it is you have to say," I said. "But would you at least introduce yourself first? I don't even know your name, and I'm not going to call you Chichiri." He laughed softly.

"Houjun," he said. "My name is Houjun. Though, if you forget and call me Chichiri I won't mind."

"Even if you don't mind, I will," I said. I glanced at my watch, a present from Sai after a month of going out, then. It was getting close to the end of my lunch period, and I needed to get back to school. "I have to get back to school. I only have one period for lunch, and it ends in fifteen minutes."

"Would you be willing to talk after you get done with school?" he asked me.

"As long as Genrou isn't there, sure," I said. "I don't want to talk to him about it yet. I need more time to think."

"I'll make sure he isn't there," he said. "And I'll meet you in the parking lot of your school this afternoon."

"Okay," I said. "I'll see you."

"It was nice to finally meet you properly this time," he said, standing up. That confused me, but nowhere near as much as some of the other things that had been happening to me recently. I dealt with my garbage, taking the fries that I hadn't finished yet with me, and headed back to school.

I remembered about as much of school that afternoon as I did that morning, though for different reasons. That morning I had been preoccupied by the dreams, and the thought of Genrou catching me in the hallway to talk about the specific dream he had caught me during. That afternoon I spent distracted by thoughts and images going through my head, almost like memories, though I had never seen them before in my life.

I saw Hotohori and myself pretending to be women while prisoners of a bunch of bandits, though that wasn't much different than my usual self. I saw myself throwing a man into a wall and then complaining about it breaking. I saw Hotohori carrying Miaka (a Japanese girl that I knew then that he loved more than anyone else) out of the water, the kanji 'hoshi' glowing red on his neck. I saw myself rescuing Miaka and Tamahome from a collapsed building, and then revealing my own red kanji 'yanagi,' which was glowing on the left side of my chest.

The whole time I was learning new things about the things I had seen in my dreams. The images were still out of order, skipping about at random, but they filled in some pieces of information that I hadn't known before. I still was completely confused about most of it, especially _why_ I was seeing these things, but it was better than it was before, even if it did keep me from learning anything in school that day.

-

After school I found Houjun waiting for me in the parking lot. Genrou tried to join us when he saw me heading that way, but Houjun shook his head, looking a little sad. That caused Genrou to mutter something to himself, but he walked away and left us alone, which made me happy. I then went with Houjun, who drove me to a coffee house downtown.

I had a hot chocolate while we talked. It was cold outside again, with the same hint of snow in the air that said that the ground was going to be very white soon. I've always hated snow, though I could never quite explain why. That dream of my death actually gave me an idea as to why I hated snow, which is one of the few things I liked about the dreams in general.

"First, I think I should tell you that I will probably cover some things that you've already remembered," he said. "It's inevitable, since I don't know what you have and haven't remembered yet. Also, please don't interrupt during my story. I may end up answering any questions you have during the story, and if I don't you can ask them later."

"Okay," I said, taking a sip of my hot chocolate.

He then told me a strange story about a world in a book that was run by an ugly old woman and four animal gods. Each of the four gods had seven warriors, shichiseishi, who served them and their chosen mikos. Apparently he, Genrou, and I were all shichiseishi for the god Suzaku, who protected the Konan empire, in previous lives. Hotohori, the one from my dreams who seemed to be the same as Sai, was the emperor of Konan and another Suzaku shichiseishi.

He told me the story of how we shichiseishi had been brought together by the arrival of Yuuki Miaka, the same girl I had seen in images earlier that day. She was Suzaku no Miko, and it was her duty to gather the Suzaku shichiseishi and then summon the god himself. Unfortunately, at the same time Seiryuu, the patron god of neighboring Kutou, was having his shichiseishi and miko assembled to summon him, and they tried to ruin our attempts the whole time.

He told me about how Miaka had fallen in love with Tamahome, yet another of the shichiseishi. Their love had been forbidden, since the miko was supposed to be pure for the god, but despite that they had persevered. In the end Miaka had been able to summon Suzaku, though it cost us the lives of all the shichiseishi except for Tasuki and Chichiri. Tamahome had been reborn outside of the book as a guy named Sukanami Taka, and he and Miaka had lived happily ever after.

The story was one that belonged in a fantasy book, not one that I should believe. It just didn't sound real. But, I couldn't help but believe it. It sounded right, and it fit with everything that I had dreamed, and seen that afternoon. And not just that, but I _felt_ that it was true, even though it sounded like a fairy tale.

Then, after he was done telling me the base story, he told me about myself. He told me about how I had entered Hotohori's harem, pretending to be a woman so I could be considered for his bride. I had been in love with him, though he had loved Miaka and never returned the feelings, especially after everyone found out that I was male. It had broken my heart.

Then the scene that I had remembered in my first dream had happened. I had, little by little, fallen in love with Tasuki, who was in no way related to me in that life. He and I had been fairly happy together, except that our love had been very short lived. I died, killed by Seiryuu shichiseishi Ashitare on a mountain, trying to open up a cave for Miaka, not too long after we got together.

I think that was what made me believe in the end. I don't know why, but it just sounded far too right to me. As he told me the story, I remembered each part just before he told it. I remembered when Miaka told Hotohori and Tamahome my secret. I remembered Tasuki's reaction to my cutting my hair the night before I died. And most of all, I remembered as a spirit going back to Konan and seeing the wife Hotohori had chosen, how she looked exactly like me.

I thanked Houjun for telling me it all after I was done asking questions. By that time it was getting close to 6 o'clock, and I needed to get home and get ready for my date with Sai that night. By then I was sure that Sai really was Hotohori, just like Genrou was Tasuki, but I wasn't going to let that affect my date with Sai. I was trying not to think about it, because I was afraid Sai would act more like Hotohori had when he found out I was male. I didn't like that thought, so I put it out of mind.

"So will you talk to Tasuki now?" Houjun asked me before I left for home. "Just enough to tell him that you don't hate him would be nice."

"I will," I said. "Maybe not right away, but I will."

We then parted. He offered to give me a ride home, but I declined. I wanted to walk home, because I wanted to be alone to think about it all. I knew that it was real, but that didn't mean I was comfortable with it all, and I wanted to be sure how I felt about it before I had to face Genrou. I knew he would want to talk, and I wasn't sure if I wanted to try and avoid it.

Luckily, I didn't have to worry about it when I got home. I was supposed to meet Sai at the restaurant that night, at 7:30. It was 6:30 when I got home, and in order to have time to walk to the restaurant slowly enough to not mess up my outfit, I needed to be out of the house by 7:05. That left me with only thirty-five minutes to get ready, and I needed each and every one of them. Because of that, I didn't feel bad when I told Genrou that I didn't have time to sit down and have a serious talk, and I think he understood.

Of course, just because I think he understood doesn't mean he was happy about it. He swore when I ran in the house and into our room to start throwing clothing around, looking for the outfit I wanted to wear. Usually I was more prepared for dates than I was that day, and most of the time I didn't have to go rooting around through drawers and closet just to find the clothes I wanted that night. That morning I hadn't had time to plan for my date that night though, so I was in a hurry.

I ended up making it out the door on time, barely. That gave me the time I needed to just walk to the restaurant, instead of running and being out of breath, and very likely messed up, when I got there. Unfortunately, it started to snow before I was even halfway to the end of the block, which made me hurry up. I did _not_ want to be in the snow that day, and I started to wish that I had agreed to let Sai pick me up at my house that night.

My watch told me that it was 7:25 when I got to the restaurant, shivering from the cold and brushing snow off myself. I didn't see Sai's car in the parking lot, but that didn't seem odd. He had once been a minute early for one of our dates, but every other time he had been there exactly on time, not early, not late. I waited for him inside, after telling the hostess that my date would be joining me soon and that the reservations were in his name.

But when it got to be 7:45 and he still wasn't there I was beyond worried. I'd gotten worried at 7:30. Fifteen minutes later I was starting to wonder if he had found out that I was male. I was sure he would have called me if something had happened that made him unable to make it otherwise, but I wasn't sure what he would do if he found out that I had been letting him believe a lie. It didn't help that Hotohori's reaction to finding out I was male came to mind when I started worrying about Sai finding out.

I used the pay phone sitting in the lobby of the restaurant to call Sai's house. I wanted to make sure he was all right, since I'd realized that he could be missing because he had gotten hurt, or sick, and was unable to call me. I hated that idea almost as much as the one that he had figured out what I was keeping from him, and I wanted to make sure it wasn't the case.

"Hello?" Mary said on the other end, once she picked up.

"Is Sai there?" I asked.

"No, I'm afraid not Kourin," she said. "He still hasn't come home. I haven't seen him since yesterday morning. Why, is something wrong?"

"He was supposed to take me to dinner at 7:30," I said.

"That isn't like him," she said.

"I know," I replied. "Could you tell him to call me when he comes back?"

"Of course dear," she said. "I'll make sure that's the first thing he does once I see him. Now, you take care."

"I will," I said. "Thanks, bye."

I hung up the phone, feeling numb. I had been sure that he would be there, either hurt or refusing to talk to me. It was all I could do to keep my composure as I stumbled out of the restaurant and ran home.

I did though, and I managed to keep the tears inside until I got back home and in my room. Genrou was there, but I ignored him as I flung myself onto my bed. It was then that I let the tears out, sobbing into my pillow. I couldn't quite figure out _why_ I had to cry then, since a little voice in the back of my mind was saying that it would have been worse if he _was_ there, either refusing to talk to me or hurt, but I was, and the tears just wouldn't stop.

"Oi, Ryuuen, you alright?" I heard Genrou asking me not too long after I buried my face in my pillow. I ignored him and kept crying, and I heard him get off his bed and move over to mine.

"Ryuuen, dammit, will ya _talk_ to me?" he asked angrily, sitting down on the bed next to me. He didn't try to pull me away from the pillow, probably because he knew he couldn't. "What happened? Did he do somethin' to ya?"

"No," I said between sobs, my voice muffled by the pillow. "He didn't do anything."

"Then what _happened_?" he asked.

"Nothing," I said.

"Why are ya cryin' then?" he asked, sounding frustrated.

"He wasn't there," I said quietly, and I felt the bed shift as he leaned closer to hear what I said. "I called his house and the maid said he hasn't been home since yesterday. So _nothing_ happened."

"He bailed on ya?" he asked, sounding surprised.

"I don't know," I said. The tears started to calm down a little then, and I sat up, wiping my eyes. "I don't know where he is, and I don't know why he wasn't there. For all I know he might be laying dead in an alley somewhere!"

Then the tears rushed back. Genrou opened his arms up to let me cry on his shoulder. He hugged me awkwardly as I sobbed. I cried myself to sleep there in his arms, and just as I was drifting off I heard him mutter something about needing to make Sai feel sorry he had made me cry yet again. I was too close to being asleep at the time to protest though, and by the time I woke up I had forgotten it.


	7. blonde demon

AUTHORS NOTE:

The stuff from chapter 1 still applies to this one too. This is my first try at fanfiction ever, so I'm a little worried about OOCness. Of course, this is a reincarnation fic, and because they have lived different lives this time around, they won't be exactly the same. For those who for some reason haven't read the first six chapters (why you'd do that, I don't know), or don't remember, Nuriko and Tasuki are brothers in this story, twins.

This is a long part. I wrote the beginning of it right after I finished chapter 6, but then I kinda took a break from this story to finish a different story. I wrote the rest of it yesterday at work and today, so it's all pretty fresh. This is the chapter when the original purpose of the story really starts to happen! *grins*

The title is still very much subject to change...and still has no basis in the story, though it will eventually (I think I'm trying for the part after next at the moment). And, I love feedback! I crave feedback. I don't necessarily need it to write...but I have found that, like anime, it is addictive. That, and it makes me feel like people are actually _reading_ my story!! So...feedback GOOOOOOOOOD! Especially feedback about how I'm doing the characters...

-

DISCLAIMER:

Nuriko/Ryuuen, Tasuki/Genrou/Shun'u, Kouji, Hotohori/Sai Hitei, Chichiri/Houjun, Tamahome/Taka, Nakago, and Miaka don't belong to me. Suzaku and Seiryuu don't belong to me either...but I've taken a few more liberties with them, so this version of them does. Fushigi Yuugi doesn't belong to me. Eventually, once everyone else shows up, they won't belong to me either. I'm just borrowing them and playing with them (and giving Nuriko what he wants…Hotohori!) Suing me would do no good, because I don't even have a permanent full time job and I have to start paying back loans too soon. All the rest of my money is going to go towards Anime Central in May, and you wouldn't deny a poor obsessive fangirl lemming her con, would you?

Himitsu and Devin on the other hand are mine, ALL MINE!!!!! I haven't let anyone take them yet...and I'm not about to either. All others so far are just random characters, and if you take them I won't be too angry, but if you can't come up with your own random characters that's pretty sad...

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Chapter 7: blonde demon

The next morning Genrou finally got his chance to make me talk about everything. He woke me up early that morning, and I found that he had laid me down in my bed and tucked my blanket up around me after I fell asleep. I was still in the dress I had worn to the restaurant though, and it was in pretty bad shape after being run through the snow, cried in, and slept in. Once I was fully awake, Genrou stood there in front of the door, watching me with a far too serious look.

"I know ya talked to Houjun yesterday, and I know he told ya everythin'," he said. I nodded. "So do ya still have a problem with it? Ya _know_ we weren't brothers back then. I know _I_ don't feel that way about ya anymore, and I don't think ya feel that way either, considerin' ya have the pretty boy now."

"I'm fine with it, I think," I said. Actually, I wasn't quite sure _how_ I felt about it, but I knew he would just bother me if I didn't give him an answer. I thought about it for a moment then, and I realized that the dreams didn't bother me quite as much as they had the day before.

"Good, cause I don't wanna see ya beatin' yourself up over it," he said. "Now, will ya tell me a little more about what happened with his prettiness last night?"

"I wouldn't let him pick me up here, so we were supposed to meet at the restaurant at 7:30," I told him. "He's _never_ been late yet, so when he wasn't there at 7:45 I called his house. The housekeeper said she hadn't seen him since yesterday morning. Then I came back here, and that's it."

"So he stood you up?" he asked. I scowled at him.

"I don't know," I said. "He _wouldn't_ have done that on purpose, I know that. Unless he figured it out and is mad at me, that is."

"He still thinks yer a girl, doesn't he?" he asked.

"Unless he's been hiding it very well, yeah," I said. He rolled his eyes and shook his head resignedly.

"He's not gonna be happy when he does find out, ya know," he said. "And it'll all be your fault."

"I know," I said, staring at the bed below me instead of looking at him. "You think I haven't been thinking about that the whole time I've been dating him?"

"Then why don't ya just tell him?" he asked.

"Because I'm scared," I said. "I don't want him to hate me, and I'm terrified that he _will_ once I tell him. I should have just told him when I met him, but I didn't. And now that it's been so long it's too late to just come out and tell him."

At that point Mom knocked on the door to see if we were up. I looked over at my clock and noticed that it was already a little past the time that I normally got up. I went over to the door, opened it, and told her that we were both up. She took one look at me and frowned, a concerned look on her face.

"Ryuuen, honey, are you all right?" she asked me. "Why are you still in your clothing from last night?"

"I fell asleep in it," I said, trying to smile. "I'm fine now though."

She didn't look any more convinced than I felt. "What happened, Ryuuen?" she asked.

"I don't really want to talk about it," I muttered, staring at the floor.

"You know I try not to pry into your life too much, Ryuuen," she said. "But I'm worried about you. You've been acting oddly lately, and I would like to know what's going on. I want to know why you came home crying last night. Could we please just sit down some time and talk?"

"I guess so," I said, and she smiled. She gave me a quick hug and then stepped back.

"Thank you," she said. "Now I'll let you get into the shower and get cleaned up."

A little of the hurt went away as I showered and got clean. I always felt better clean. It didn't _all_ go away though, just enough that I didn't feel raw and ready to burst into tears. I knew that that day wasn't going to go much better than the day before had, unless something _really_ good happened to get my mind working properly again and distract me from the dull ache of sadness that I could feel. That ache was more than ready to come back and make me cry again if just the slightest bad thing happened.

-

Genrou decided to walk to school with me that day. He was just as worried about me as Mom was, though he knew more about what was going on than she did, and he chose to show it by accompanying me. When he joined me at the door I was surprised to find that I didn't mind him being there, even though I almost snapped at him to leave me along before I thought about it. It felt good to know that he was willing to ignore the jeers that would come from being with me when we got to school for once. It was that gesture of his that finally convinced me that he really didn't mind what had been between us when we were Nuriko and Tasuki.

The ground was covered with snow when we stepped outside. I had seen it through the window, but I hadn't realized just how deep it was until I was standing mid-calf deep in it. It hadn't even reached the tops of my feet when I ran home the night before, so it must have continued to fall all night. Luckily for the people who drove to school, the city had already gotten the plows out on the streets. Still, it was one of the few days during the winter when I was glad I didn't have a car to drive to school in.

I wasn't usually very bitter about not having a car. I knew Mom couldn't afford to have two cars, especially after Genrou got sent to reform school. I just didn't have much of an income aside from my babysitting, and that wasn't anywhere near enough to get a car. It didn't bother me, since I liked the walk to school, except in the winter. It was cold in the winter, and I hated the snow.

I hated driving in the snow even more. I _did_ have my driver's license, despite what most people who knew me thought. I had learned to drive during the six months before my sixteenth birthday, just like any other teenager my age did. Mom had even taken me around to practice in her car so that I wouldn't be quite so nervous when I took my test. That was more than Genrou had gotten, since as far as I knew he still hadn't gotten his license. But I hated driving in the snow, even when the streets were plowed, and that day I was glad that I didn't have to do it. I was even gladder to have Genrou with me as we walked through the stuff.

Of course, when we actually got to school, we found out that it had been cancelled due to snow. We didn't find it out right away, since no one had bothered to put up a sign or leave someone there to tell students who didn't know. We just got to school to find a mostly empty parking lot and locked doors. We ended up climbing into the car of someone we barely knew (who didn't hate either one of us) and shivering there while we all listened to the radio to find out if they had delayed or closed school. Then, after they announced the school closings, including our city's, on the radio, she was nice enough to offer us a ride home.

I didn't understand why they decided to close school that day. It was still the very beginning of "winter," since it wasn't even officially going to be winter for another month. The snow would just get worse, and our school district only had a few snow days to spare before they had to start making us go in for make-up days. The roads were no more dangerous than they would be during a normal winter day, so closing school didn't seem to make any sense. Besides, they had forced us to go to school for what seemed like hundreds of days that were worse than that one before.

Neither Genrou nor I complained that much, though. We only complained because we didn't think it was bad enough to listen for school closings before we left the house, and thus had to trudge through the snow the whole way to school and then back again for no reason. We were still more than happy to have the day off, especially me. I really hadn't been looking forward to forcing myself to pay at least a little bit of attention to classes when I had too many other things on my mind, such as worrying about whether Sai had figured out my secret or was in trouble.

I spent most of the day trying to find something that would take my mind off of things. Every time I stopped consciously _not_ thinking about Sai, my mind returned to him. The same set of worries ran through my head about a thousand times that day. Had he found out that I was a guy and hated me because of it, so that he never wanted to see me again? Had he found out I was a guy and just needed some time to think about it? Was he mad at me for some other reason? Was he hurt, or in trouble? Those worries were starting to drive me crazy, since I couldn't really do anything about them.

I tried calling him once during the day, just in case he had come home and was too mad at me to call me, or not able to call me because he was too hurt. Mary answered the phone, just like she had the other two times, and the answer was just the same. No, he hadn't come home yet. She was starting to get worried, and yes, she would tell him to call me as soon as he showed up. That didn't help, and as the day went on I got more and more worried, which clearly bothered Genrou.

It bothered him enough that he dragged me out of the house around lunch time. I hadn't even realized that he was still in the house until then, but I definitely noticed when he grabbed my arm and started pulling me away from the window, where I was standing and staring at the snow blankly. He wouldn't have gotten me very far if I had refused to go, but I didn't resist at all, and before I knew it I was putting on my jacket and following him out the door into the cold of November in Wisconsin.

Houjun was waiting outside for us. He was standing in front of his car at the side of the street, right in the middle of the snow bank, and smiling at us. He looked a lot more like the Chichiri I remembered from the dreams at that time than he had any time I had seen him before. That cheered me up almost as much as my shower that morning did, because his lighthearted mood didn't seem to be a mask the way it was in the dreams.

"Houjun and I are takin' ya out for lunch," Genrou announced once he had shoved me in the front seat of the car and then gotten in the back himself. "I'm not gonna let ya moon over his prettiness the way ya always did before. I don't wanna see ya cry anymore, so we're gonna get ya cheered up. We're gonna make ya forget all about him!"

"But I don't _want_ to forget about him," I said quietly. It was something that would probably have made me burst into tears before we left the house, but Houjun's mood had made it a little more bearable. Genrou frowned at that, but he didn't protest.

"You don't have to forget about him, Ryuuen," Houjun said. "Tasuki just doesn't want to see you worrying like this. It makes him worry, even if he doesn't want to admit it."

"Dammit, how many times do I have to tell ya, it's Genrou now!" Genrou yelled at Houjun. "If ya can get _his_ name right ya can damn well get mine right too!"

"Gomen ne," Houjun replied, but he turned to grin at me. That smile told me that he knew very well that Genrou didn't like being called Tasuki, and that he did it on purpose. I couldn't help but smile back at him, which pissed Genrou off. I think he realized the understanding that had passed between Houjun and I, and it annoyed him. He started muttering to himself as Houjun started the car and we pulled away from the curb.

Genrou and I argued a bit after Houjun asked me where I wanted to go for lunch and I suggested Subway. Genrou, it turned out, didn't like Subway at all, not to mention he wanted to take me somewhere a little nicer. I didn't see anything wrong with Subway, especially since I happened to like subs. Houjun didn't seem to care, and he seemed to be happy letting us fight it out between the two of us. In the end I gave up, and we went to Perkins.

As we were being seated, I heard a familiar, but not identifiable, voice call out to us. He called Houjun by the name Chichiri, which immediately got the attention of all three of us. When I looked over at the booth where the voice came from, I saw the same man who had called me Nuriko after running into me outside of the craft shop where I bought Sai's present. I realized then that he was Taka, or another reincarnation of Tamahome. I was willing to bet he was the same Taka, though, and that somewhere in the world Miaka was still alive, not too much older than she was when I knew her.

Genrou and Houjun recognized him too. "Taka?" Houjun asked. Like me, he suspected that it really was the same Taka, and the nod that he received in reply just proved it.

"What the hell are ya doin' at _Perkins_?" Genrou asked. His voice was so loud when he said it that the woman who was supposed to be leading us to our seats turned red and started asking him to keep it down. She looked more than a little worried, and it didn't really help that we were standing in the middle of the restaurant talking to someone when she was supposed to be seating us.

"Having lunch," Taka said. "And I was just wondering the same about you three."

"Ummm, excuse me, but I can't just let you stand here right now," the hostess said nervously. "There are other customers waiting, and I need to get you seated."

"Do you mind if we join you, Taka?" Houjun asked. "So we can talk, and so we can get out of the way?"

"Sure," Taka replied.

Genrou and Houjun sat down next to each other in the booth, across the table from Taka, who scooted toward the wall to let me sit next to him. I just stood there for a few moments, staring at Taka. All I could think of was how I, as Nuriko, had treated Tamahome when we first met. I had a momentary vision of dragging him, tied up in ropes, back to my rooms through the halls of the Konan palace. Then another thought occurred to me. Unlike me, he had gotten his love in the end, and I couldn't help but feel a little bitter as the thought reminded me of Sai being missing.

"What're ya waitin' for, Ryuuen?" Genrou asked me as I continued to stand there. He sounded impatient.

I knew that the conversation at that table would eventually turn to Miaka. It had to. We had all loved her, if not in the same way that Tamahome/Taka did, and Genrou and Houjun were bound to be curious to know how she was doing. I was a little curious too. But at the same time, I _didn't_ want to hear about Miaka, the same girl who Hotohori had loved so much. I didn't want to be reminded any more, and that was why I didn't want to sit down.

I thought about saying I would just eat alone, but I knew that would just piss Genrou off. He would think I wanted to be alone so I could fall back into the blank worrying that I had been doing all morning. So instead I looked around the restaurant with an almost frantic glance, trying to find someone I knew. My first glance didn't reveal anyone who would welcome me joining them, but a second glance showed me a familiar figure in a black trench coat and hat (even while he was inside) sitting just a few booths away.

"I just spotted Himitsu-sensei's friend Devin," I said, smiling a little at Genrou. "You know, the one who's always wearing the trench coat? I think I'm going to join him, okay?"

Genrou growled in anger, but didn't say anything, and Houjun nodded. I think he realized that I didn't want to talk to Taka just yet, that I was still a little uncomfortable with it all. Taka just shrugged. "It was nice seeing you again, Nuriko," he said.

"It's Ryuuen now," I replied, and then I walked over to the table where Devin was sitting. I could hear Houjun explaining to Taka that I had only started remembering things recently, and that I wasn't quite used to the idea yet as I walked away.

He had noticed me. Everyone in the restaurant had noticed us when Genrou had asked Taka why he was there, but most of them had stopped paying attention to us when we quieted down. Devin had still been watching, though, and when I approached him he smiled at me in a friendly fashion. His head was raised just enough that I could see his gray eyes for the first time.

"Do you mind if I join you?" I asked him.

"Go ahead," he said. I sat down across the table from him. "Out of curiosity, why aren't you joining your brother and friends?"

"I don't really want to talk to Taka," I said. "I haven't seen him in forever, and I'm not really in the mood to talk to him right now."

We talked for a while, and I got to know him. It turned out he was Himitsu-sensei's boyfriend, just as I suspected when I saw them together. He told me he didn't get out much, because he worked from home as a computer scientist, and he spent most of his time buried in code. I got the feeling that there was more to it than that, but I tried to ignore it, since it was probably related to the reason he wore that trench coat and hat everywhere.

At one point I remember trying to forget that I was related to Genrou, when he yelled, "She's _what_?" loud enough to catch the attention of the whole restaurant. I turned bright red and tried to sink down beneath the table, even though no one was paying attention to me. I felt like everyone in the building knew I was the loud idiot's brother, and that they would all be staring at me in just a few moments. It never happened though, and before long the fuss calmed down enough that I could relax.

Then, not too long after a waitress stopped by our table and took my order, everyone's attention got called to the table where Taka, Houjun, and Genrou were sitting again. This time it was because of Taka, who had yelled, "He's _what_?" just as loud as Genrou had yelled earlier. It didn't bother me quite as much as Genrou's explosion had, but it was still a little embarrassing. The three of them laughed, a little too casually, after they realized that they had caught the attention of everyone in the restaurant _again_.

Then, I heard Genrou reply, "It's true. And he's even got his prettiness himself for a boyfriend."

I felt the blood drain out of my face after he said that. They were talking about me, and Sai. The mention of Sai brought back all of the worry, and then I started feeling guilty for leaving the house. For all I knew, Sai had returned to his house just a few minutes earlier and was calling my house at the moment as Mary would have told him to. And I was sitting at Perkins talking to Himitsu-sensei's boyfriend instead of waiting for him to get back.

"Ryuuen, are you all right?" Devin asked me then. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

I froze for a few moments. I wasn't all right, and I knew it. But I didn't think I could tell Devin everything that wasn't right with me. It wasn't the problem of Sai being missing, but everything else, and I _wanted_ to tell him it. I felt like I could trust him, but I was afraid that he wouldn't believe it and would then think I was crazy. Still, before I knew it I was telling him the whole story, about the book and the reincarnation, and also about Sai.

He listened silently while I babbled. He didn't even blink when I mentioned the book, or being a reincarnation of a legendary warrior. He just listened. When I got to the part about Sai, and having seen him in my dreams for so long before I met him in real life, he smiled at me. Then when I told him about Sai being missing and standing me up for our date the night before, he looked concerned.

"And that's why we're here at Perkins," I finished. "Genrou and Houjun decided that I needed to get out of the house and stop worrying."

After that he stayed silent for so long that I started wondering if he didn't believe me and was trying to think of a way to tell me that without hurting my feelings. I knew I was close to crying; I could feel the tears just under the surface, ready to break through at any moment. I had the feeling that he knew they were there too. I was pretty sure that the last thing he wanted to deal with was a crying seventeen year old cross dresser.

"You don't believe me, do you?" I asked him, trying to keep my voice from trembling.

"That's not it," he said in a gentle voice. "I believe you. I was just thinking. What did you say the names of your bird god and his enemy were?"

"Suzaku and Seiryuu," I said.

"I've heard those names before..." he mused, but then he shook his head and smiled at me again. "But that doesn't matter. I think your brother was only trying to do what's best for you by getting you out of the house. You do realize that, don't you?"

"He did what he _thought_ was best," I said reluctantly. "But what if Sai gets back and calls while I'm gone?"

"Then he'll leave a message for you," he replied. "And he'll know that you were worried about him, even if he does happen to be angry with you. He won't disappear just because you aren't there, and you weren't doing yourself any good by staying there worrying."

"I still don't like it," I muttered. I sounded childish, and I knew it.

"That's understandable," Devin replied. "Worrying about a loved one is always hard. I would say that you get used to it with time, but it isn't true. That would by lying to you, and I never lie if I can help it. But I _can_ tell you that it will eventually end. I've been similarly worried about Himitsu several times in the past, but they've always come to an end."

Oddly enough, that made me feel a little better. Not completely better, since I was still worried about Sai, but I at least didn't feel like I was about to burst into tears again. I gave him a smile that almost felt real because of it. Then something he said made me more than a little curious.

"Where _is_ Himitsu-sensei?" I asked him. "Didn't he get off because of the snow day too?"

Devin laughed. "He wouldn't have been there today even if school hadn't been cancelled," he said. "He loathes snow so much that he would have called in sick just to get out of having to go outside."

"He does know that it stays snowy here until at least mid-March, doesn't he?" I asked.

"Yeah," he replied. "But that doesn't stop him from skipping out on work for the first snowy day every year. It didn't matter in the end though. He _did_ get the day off, just like you did."

"Then where is he?" I asked.

"He was summoned away for family business," he said. "He was going to use that as his excuse to get out of going in today, since it will probably take all day. Even if it doesn't, he said he was going to stop by and visit an old mentor of his on his way home..."

He then trailed off into silence. After a moment of thought, when I was just about to ask him if he was okay, he got a surprised look on his face. "So _that's_ where I'd heard those names before!" he exclaimed. "His mentor's name is Suzaku. And Seiryuu is..."

I never got to hear what he was saying about Seiryuu. Before he could finish the statement, a man interrupted him. "Excuse me," his deep, but calm and cool, voice said.

I looked up to see a face that I could only remember, from the dreams, having seen once, but still a face that I would never forget. That one time had been after I died, during the one time I had been able to see Miaka's world, when I saved my friends from dying by a falling building. That was when we were facing off against Nakago, the leader of the Seiryuu shichiseishi. The face on the man standing at our table was the same.

Well not _exactly_ the same. He looked younger than the man I remembered, like he was barely even twenty years old. He had his blonde hair tied back, so that it looked like it was cut short when I first looked at him. His blue eyes glinted with a hard look, even though the rest of his face was carefully showing only politeness. Those eyes were full of cruelty, and, if it was possible, they made him seem to be even more dangerous than the Nakago I remembered, like a blonde demon who was politely waiting to be acknowledged.

"Nakago..." I whispered. I wasn't actually trying to let him know that I recognized him. It just kind of slipped out.

"I have been called that before," he said.

I tried to summon some of the courage that I knew I had shown as Nuriko, sometimes. The look in his eyes scared me more than anything else, even my worries about Sai. I tried to at least look brave when I asked him, trying desperately to keep my voice level and strong, "What are you doing here?"

"I've come for the fox," he said.

I gave him a blank look, since I had no idea what he was talking about. But Devin saved me by speaking up. "He's talking about me," he said. "Why don't you go join your brother and friends?"

"No," I said. "He's dangerous. I don't think I can do anything to stop him if he tries to do something, but I can't just leave you alone."

"I can take care of myself, Ryuuen," he said softly.

"He stays," Nakago said, his voice hard. "He needs to take a message to the prince."

"I can do that," Devin replied.

"You are coming with me," Nakago said.

It was at that point that I tried to get up and go over to the table where Genrou, Houjun, and Taka were sitting. None of them had noticed our blonde visitor, which really surprised me. Instead, they were huddled together across the table, talking about something so intently that they weren't noticing anyone around them. When I tried to get up, though, Nakago stepped in front of me and pushed me back into the seat.

"You can't make me," Devin said. "Not without upsetting the whole restaurant."

"I don't care about that," Nakago said. "You are the one who is trying to be secretive. Besides, I could always take _him_ instead. It's your choice. Will you come with me willingly, or do I take another one of Suzaku's minions? Either way, it will get your dragon's attention, which is what my lord wants."

"What are you talking about?" I asked, which just made Nakago glare at me. That glare made my courage fail, and I shrank back in the seat, away from him.

"It's nothing you need to get involved in, Ryuuen," Devin said.

"I already _am_ involved!" I said. "I know him. He's one of the Seiryuu shichiseishi. He's the one who ordered me killed."

"And he's not here for you now; he's here for Himitsu," he told me, and then he turned back to Nakago. "I'll go with you, if you swear to me that you won't hurt Ryuuen."

"As I said, he needs to take a message to your dragon," Nakago replied. "As long as you come willingly I will let him go."

"Fine then," Devin said. "Tell him your message and let's go." Then he stood up from the table and went to stand behind Nakago. He smiled at me weakly when I looked at him, but he didn't say anything else.

"We have your miko and one of your warriors," Nakago told me. "They are still unharmed, but that will not last long if you decide to give us trouble. Tell that to the dragon, and then tell him that we have his fox."

"Tell who?" I asked, but he didn't respond. He just turned away from the table and started walking. Devin followed him silently. I just sat there until they were both out the door, and then I sagged into the seat as part of his message finally sank in.

He said they had the miko. They had Miaka, and from what I had seen of Taka earlier, he didn't know it yet. But besides that, he said they had one of our warriors, one of our shichiseishi. It obviously wasn't one of the four of us who were in the restaurant. It could possibly have been the reincarnation of one of the other two, who I had just recently remembered, Mitsukake or Chiriko. Or it could be the last one, and I had the sickening feeling that it was.

They had Sai.


	8. hurry!

Author's note: Well, on to the eighth chapter! Wai! It's getting closer to done, though I must admit this isn't the coolest chapter in the world... It's got some important plot, though, like Ryuuen's mother being confrontational, and the introduction of yet _another_ character I don't own, though I'm not saying which one, because it really spoils the end of the chapter.

Next chapter will probably be pretty short...but I'm not sure when I'll get it out, as I've been _really_ busy recently, what with a new full time job...and a bit of an obession with video games, not to mention several other pieces of writing to work on, including my Gravitation fanfic (only 1 chapter so far), Bishounen R Us 

DISCLAIMER: Nope, still don't own Fushigi Yuugi, or any of the characters from it...not even the one who shows up at the end of the chapter. Though, Himitsu and Devin still belong to me. ^_^

* * *

Chapter 8: hurry!

The first thing I did after making my realization was shake my head and try to convince myself that Sai wasn't in as much danger as I thought he was. He was Hotohori, a Suzaku shichiseishi just like myself. He was stronger than that, even if he didn't remember yet. I didn't think that he remembered, at least not everything. He would have seen through my lie if he had remembered. He would have recognized me for who I was, and he wouldn't have kept up the lie. But even without remembering, he would be fine. He _had_ to be fine, because _I_ wouldn't be fine if he wasn't.

I was still worried, though, and the second thing I did was panic. I bolted up from the seat and ran over to the table where the other three were sitting, still completely oblivious as to what had just happened. When I got to their table they all looked up at me with curious expressions on their faces. Of course, when they saw my own panic, those expressions turned worried.

"Is something wrong, Ryuuen?" Houjun asked me.

"Nakago was just here!" I exclaimed. That brought looks of shock and disbelief to Genrou and Taka's faces. Houjun just looked surprised. "He came to our table and made Devin leave with him. He walked right by your table on his way out. Didn't you _see_ him?"

"He wouldn't have gotten outa here in once piece if I'd seen him," Genrou said, and Taka nodded in agreement.

"Did it ever occur to you that he might have changed since the last time we saw him, Tasuki?" Houjun asked, his voice soft. Genrou growled at the name, but then he shook his head vehemently.

"Nakago will _always_ be a bastard," he said.

"He took Devin, Houjun," I said. "Devin didn't want to go, but he didn't want to put up a fight either. He threatened to take me instead, and Devin only went with him so he'd leave me alone. And he told me he has Sai and Miaka."

"Miaka is in Japan," Taka said. "He can't have her."

Genrou snorted. "This from the man who's been in and out of a book? You're willin' to believe that Suzaku and his buddies are real and that we're all reincarnations of great warriors, but you're not willin' to believe that Nakago can get his hands on Miaka just because she's halfway across the world?"

"I talked to her yesterday morning," Taka said.

"That doesn't mean much," Genrou said. "Do ya really wanna call his bluff?"

"It doesn't matter anyway," I snapped. "He has _Sai_!" I was starting to feel impatient. Nakago had Sai and Miaka, and he had just left with Devin, and all Taka and my stupid brother could do was sit there and argue about whether Nakago could have kidnapped Miaka! I felt like ripping something apart, and at the moment Genrou was looking like a very good target.

"Who is Sai?" Taka asked.

"That's the name his imperial prettiness goes by nowadays," Genrou said. "And are ya sure of that, Ryuuen?"

"Not completely," I said. "He just said that he had one of us, so I guess it could be Mitsukake or Chiriko, if they're around somewhere. But Sai's been missing; I _told_ you that. And even if it's not Sai, we can't leave Mitsukake or Chiriko, and we definitely can't leave Devin. He went with Nakago to keep me safe."

"We can't do much about it anyway," Houjun said, and I turned to glare at him, even though I knew deep down inside that he was making sense. "We have no idea where he is or how to find him."

"But we have to do _something_!" I protested.

"Did he tell you anything else?" he asked me. "Like somewhere to meet him, or something you could do so he would release them?"

"He gave me a message to take to someone he called Devin's "dragon,"" I said. "But I don't know who that might be. The only dragon I can think of is Seiryuu, and I doubt Nakago needs me to take a message to his master."

"You said earlier that he is related to your teacher somehow, didn't you?" Houjun said.

"Yeah," I replied. "He's Himitsu-sensei's boyfriend."

"We should tell him about it, then," he said.

"We can't get another outsider involved in this, Chichiri," Taka said. "Having this Devin involved is already too much. What would we say to this teacher? He wouldn't believe the truth."

"He might," I said. "Devin believed everything I told him. He didn't have any sort of problem accepting the story. Besides, he seemed to recognize Suzaku and Seiryuu. I think they might already be involved."

As I finished talking, I realized that Genrou was staring at me with a dumbfounded expression. He looked like he was torn between calling me an idiot and screaming. The others didn't seem to have any problems, but Genrou did, and that worried me. "What?" I asked.

"Ya _told_ him?" he asked in a choked tone. "About us? About the book and the gods?" I nodded. "What the hell did ya do somethin' stupid like that for?"

I looked down at the table and avoided looking at Genrou as I answered his question. I had momentarily asked myself the same question right after I started telling Devin the story, and I still hadn't come up with a reply that made sense. The closest I could get was to say that I trusted Devin, and that I didn't know _why_ I trusted him, just that I did. I told Genrou this, and his expression grew angrier, rather than understanding or accepting.

"Ya idiot!" he exclaimed. "Ya barely know this guy, and here ya are, tellin' him yer crazy stories that ya couldn't even accept on yer own a few days ago! What would ya have done if he had decided that you're crazy and then convinced Himitsu-sensei that he's right? You're already on shaky ground with the fuckin' school because of the cross dressing thing. If one of the teachers starts worryin' about yer sanity it'll get ya stuck in an institution before ya know it!"

"Devin wouldn't do that," I shot back. "Even if he didn't believe me, he wouldn't try to make Himitsu-sensei think I'm crazy."

"How the fuck do ya know _that_? You've talked to the guy, what? Twice now? Is that supposed to make ya an expert on his behavior?"

"He just wouldn't," I said from between my teeth.

The problem was that I saw where Genrou was coming from. I really didn't know Devin much at all, and I had no real reason to trust him with the story of our past, especially not when that story involved Genrou and Houjun explaining things to me, making me believe it. But I still trusted Devin, even if I couldn't figure out why, and I couldn't think of any way to explain that trust to my over-protective brother. All I could do was get frustrated with him, which was how I felt at that moment.

"Bullshit," Genrou said.

I glared at him, but didn't dignify that with a response. Instead, I turned away from the table and started walking out of the restaurant, pulling my coat on as I did so. I did not want to continue the argument, since it would just make me more frustrated, and I would never be able to convince Genrou that Devin was to be trusted, because I couldn't explain it to myself. Rather than continue there, I decided to leave and go tell Himitsu-sensei what had happened, in hopes that he might be able to help. The worst that could happen would be that he would laugh at me and tell me to go home and stop making things up. At least, that's what I thought.

It wasn't until I stepped outside, into the cold, not yet officially winter, though it felt like winter, air and looked around at the snow that I remembered that Houjun had driven us to Perkins. I would either have to walk, through the snow, which I did _not_ want to do, or wait for the others. And waiting meant I would have to face Genrou again. Shivering and pulling my coat tighter around my body, I turned back to the entrance, only to stop when I saw Taka step outside.

"You really think we should tell this teacher of yours, Nuriko?" he asked me.

I glared at him for just a moment. "Don't call me that," I muttered, before raising my voice to answer his question. "And yeah, I do. He has a right to know that someone like Nakago has his boyfriend, even if the story behind it is less than believable to him. And he might be able to help. You never know."

"Tasuki is worried about you," he said.

"I know," I said. "But I really do trust Devin, even if I'm not sure why I do. And I'm a big boy. I can take care of myself without having to have my big brother watching me every step of the way. He may not want to tell Himitsu-sensei, but I do. I trust him the same way I trust Devin, and I'm going to tell him about this whether Genrou wants me to or not."

"I'll give you a ride to wherever this teacher lives," he said. "Since the person who drove you here is currently trying to keep Tasuki from impulsively burning down the restaurant."

"He has his tessen here?" I asked. He nodded, and I grimaced. Then, I forced a smile, even though I really wasn't in any sort of happy mood at the moment. "Well, which car is yours?"

I didn't realize that I had absolutely _no_ idea where Himitsu-sensei lived until we had already been driving for a couple of minutes. At the same time as I realized that, I remembered that Devin had said that Himitsu-sensei was not at home. Genrou would probably have decided to give up there, if only because he didn't want me getting Himitsu-sensei involved. But I didn't want to give up, not after I decided to do it, so I asked Taka to stop by home after I told him that I didn't really know where Himitsu-sensei lived.

My plan was very, very simple. We had a phonebook at home. All I was going to do was look up Himitsu-sensei in the phonebook. If he wasn't in there, I would try for Devin. I had to assume that Himitsu-sensei and Devin lived somewhere in the Appleton area, specifically in the region I could find in the phonebook. If they didn't, I was more or less out of luck finding them. Luckily for me, I was probably right, since I doubted Himitsu-sensei would like living too far away from the school.

Unfortunately, my plan didn't involve Mom being home early from work, and she was. I didn't notice it when we pulled into the driveway, even though her car was sitting there, and it shouldn't have been. I was too busy being preoccupied with thoughts of Sai (and Devin and Miaka, though they weren't _quite_ as important at the time) in danger. I didn't actually notice that she was home until I got inside and found her sitting at the kitchen table, drinking a cup of coffee.

"Ryuuen, where have you been?" she asked me as soon as I burst through the side door. I immediately froze and stared at her, all thoughts of what I was about to do gone from my head. Taka probably would have run into me had he been running the same way I was. Luckily, he wasn't, because I didn't feel him slam into me from behind and knock me over.

"Mom..." I said before my brain actually started working and telling me what I should tell her. "Genrou and I went out for lunch. He wanted to cheer me up."

"Where is he?" she asked.

"He's with Houjun," I said. She gave me a look that clearly told me that she didn't know who Houjun was. "A friend. He drove us to Perkins, but something came up while we were at the restaurant, so I came back without them."

It continued like that for a few minutes. Mom kept asking me questions about what we'd been doing, why Genrou and Houjun "abandoned" me and left me to get back from Perkins on my own...things like that. I answered the questions for a while, until I realized that she suspected that the something that came up at the restaurant had something to do with my odd behavior recently, and that she wanted to have that talk that she had mentioned that morning right then. And if I didn't want to talk, she would drag it out of me, like it or not. I would have been glad to tell her what was going on, if I wasn't in such a hurry, so I finally flat out refused to answer a question.

"Mom, I'm kinda in a hurry right now," I said to her. "Can't we talk about this later? I _really_ don't have time for it at the moment."

"No, Ryuuen," she replied. "We need to talk about it now. I want to know why one of my sons came home crying last night. Something is going on with you, and your brother as well, and I think as your mother I have a right to know what it is."

"I _know_," I said impatiently. "But not right now. Right now I need to get going. Every minute I stay here makes it that much more likely that Sai will be hurt, and I'm _not_ going to let that happen!"

She went pale when I mentioned Sai possibly getting hurt, though I was pretty sure it wasn't because Sai might get hurt. "Ryuuen, are you involved in something dangerous?"

I nodded. She got a sad look on her face, but it only lasted a very brief moment. Then it was replaced by an angry look, and the exact same stubborn look that I had seen Genrou get when he didn't plan to be budged from what he wanted to do.

She stayed silent, though. After a few seconds, I went for the phonebook and started looking for Ryuujin. There were no Ryuujins at all, let alone Ryuujin, Himitsu, so I started looking for James. Finally, I found an address for Devin and wrote it down on a piece of scrap paper. Paper in hand, I started for the door, only to be stopped by Mom stepping right in front of me.

"You aren't going anywhere, young man," she said firmly. She couldn't actually stop me if I fought back, and I'm sure she realized that even without knowing about my abnormal strength. The problem was...I didn't want to fight back, because I might hurt her. I still wasn't used to my strength, which just meant that I would hurt her that much easier if I judged things wrong.

"Mom, get out of my way," I said, feeling more frustrated at that moment than I had in a very long time. "This is important. Sai is in trouble. So is Devin. And it's all my fault, so if there is any way I can help, I have to do it!"

"I am not letting you run off and get yourself hurt!" she exclaimed. "This isn't like you, Ryuuen, getting involved in dangerous things like this! Your brother, yes, but not you. Just stay here. We can call the police. They're better at handling dangerous situations than you are."

"The police can't help in this, Mom," I said. "They would just get themselves hurt, maybe killed."

"And you think my seventeen year old son can do better?" she shrieked.

"Yes, I do. Because if we can't do this, I'm not sure if anyone can. Please, Mom, just move. Don't make me force you to move."

She just stared at me and didn't say a word. She didn't move either. I let it stay like that for almost two whole minutes before I admitted to myself that she wasn't going to make life easy for me. Finally, I sighed, stepped up to Mom, and picked her up as if she weighed nothing. I never would have been able to do it without my Nuriko-strength, since she was actually bigger than I was (odd as that seemed to most of the people who knew me, and knew that I was male). I then turned around in place and put her back down on the other side of me.

"I'm sorry, Mom," I said, giving her a quick hug. "I'll be as careful as I possibly can, but this is something that I have to do. And I _will_ explain it to you when I get back, I promise." I just had to hope that things wouldn't go like they had the last time I had faced one of Seiryuu's followers (while alive), so that I could actually carry out my promise. I couldn't let myself think that things might not go well, because I was too scared already.

Then I ran for the door before she could get in front of me again. I couldn't move very fast in the dress I was wearing, but at least Mom was still more than a little surprised by what I had just done. By the time she actually realized that I was leaving, I was already at the door, where Taka was waiting for me. I'm not sure why he didn't come in, since I invited him in when I went through the door, but he had decided to stay outside at the door while I searched for Himitsu-sensei's address. From the look on his face, though, he had heard at least some of my conversation with Mom through the screen window on the door.

"Come on," I said as I ran toward the car. "We need to get moving."

He didn't hurry to the car. He just started walking, and looked back at the house, where Mom had just reached the doorway and was calling for me to stop. I had to ignore her. If I went back and explained everything to her, it might be too late. Every moment I spent doing something else was one more moment Nakago might be using to do horrible things to Sai, and I just couldn't let that happen. Even then, it might already be too late.

"Your mother is worried about you," he said. "Are you just going to leave her like this?"

"She doesn't _understand_," I said. "She doesn't know what's going on. She doesn't know _anything_, and it would take too long to explain it. We need to hurry!"

I sat down in the car and waited impatiently for him, but he didn't come. At least, not right away. He stopped less than three feet away from the house, when my mother came running out of the house toward him. I didn't want to have to talk to her again, since I couldn't think of any easy way to explain things to her, so I had closed the door. Because of that, I couldn't hear what she said to Taka, or what he said back to her. All I know is that she didn't follow him to the car, and that Taka refused to tell me what had happened when he finally got in.

Once Taka started driving, we found out that Taka, who had been in Appleton only since the beginning of the school year, knew the area, and how to find a place just by the address and without a map, far better than I did, even though I had been living in the area since Mom, Genrou, and I had moved to the US. He actually had an idea of where the street that Devin's apartment was on _was_, while I had never even heard of it before. Still, it took us almost twenty minutes of driving around a couple neighborhoods before we found the right apartment complex and stopped. And I got more and more worried and frustrated the longer it took.

The moment Taka stopped the car and started to turn it off, I unbuckled my seat belt and dashed out of the car. I didn't bother to wait for him as I ran for the door. I wasn't really thinking about whether Taka would be able to follow me and find the right apartment or not. Even if I had, I'm not sure if I would have slowed down...I was too worried and sick of not being able to do _anything_ that might help by that point to care if I left behind my fellow shichiseishi or not.

The elevator inside the building took to long to get down to the first floor, too long being a few seconds. I took the stairs instead, and I even managed to make it up two whole flights of stairs before I tripped over the bottom of my dress and fell. Luckily, that brought me back to my senses a little, and I took the other flight of stairs a little slower, though still at a run.

Himitsu-sensei and Devin lived in apartment 408. The stairs came out right next to it, so within seconds of getting up to the fourth floor, I was banging on the door, hoping that Himitsu-sensei was actually there. I wasn't exactly sure what I was going to tell him if, or when, he answered, but at least it was _something_ I could do, since I had no idea how to go rescue Sai. I was still banging on the door, and getting no answer, when Taka finally came up the stairs.

"You could have waited for me," he said bitterly.

"No time," I replied, banging louder. I was actually a little surprised that no one from the other apartments was yelling at me for being so loud. I was starting to get even more frustrated, and I was about ten seconds away from starting to yell for Himitsu-sensei, since there was a small chance that he might not have heard my knocking.

Right before I started yelling, though, the elevator opened up just a few doors down from where we were standing. I stopped banging on the door just long enough to see who was in the elevator, and as soon as I the doors opened, I let my hand fall and rushed forward. The person stepping out of the elevator was Himitsu-sensei.

"Himitsu-sensei!" I exclaimed, and then the words just started coming out. "They have Devin! He shouldn't be involved, but he said he already is, and I couldn't stop Devin from going with Nakago. He did it so that he wouldn't take me, and I don't know what to do, but I thought you should know! And you probably won't believe me, but Nakago said that he has Miaka and Sai, and I have no idea what to do, but I don't want him to hurt Sai, and I'm just so _frustrated_!"

Right about then I ran out of breath and sort of collapsed right in front of Himitsu-sensei, who hadn't even gotten to take a step out of the elevator. When I looked up at him, he looked confused, but nowhere near as confused as I expected him to be. Besides, he looked more worried than confused, and that confused _me_, since I could barely make sense of what I had just said myself.

"I don't think I quite understood all of that, Ryuuen," Himitsu-sensei said. "Why don't you take a couple breaths, get up, and then you can try again, slower this time, somewhere other than the hallway?"

"We don't have _time_ for that!" I exclaimed in protest as he offered his hand to help me up, though I took it anyway. "He has _Sai_!"

"Nuriko, we don't even know where they are," Taka said from behind me. I turned to glare at him, partly for calling me Nuriko again and partly for trying to make me slow down a little. I wanted to go save Sai right away, and I guess I had been hoping more than a little that Himitsu-sensei would somehow magically know what we were supposed to do.

"Yes, Ryuuen, let us settle down a little and get the facts straight first." This came from behind Himitsu-sensei, from another person, a man, in the elevator with him. Himitsu-sensei was right in front of him, so I hadn't even known he was there until that moment. But then, after he spoke up, Himitsu-sensei stepped aside and looked at him questioningly.

"Sensei?" he asked the man.

The man standing in the elevator behind Himitsu-sensei looked familiar, though I was sure I had never seen him before. And unlike Taka and Houjun, he wasn't another person who I had seen as Nuriko and then forgotten until just recently. I _knew_ I had never seen him before.

He was kinda tall, though not as tall as Himitsu-sensei. I was sure I would have known if I had seen him before, just because I would have remembered his hair. It was bright red, not the same shade as Himitsu-sensei's hair, but still _red_. It was pretty short, and it stuck straight up, except for two pieces that hung down on either side of his face in front of his ears and two more pieces that kinda fell like bangs over his forehead. His eyes were red too, but he didn't look evil, like someone with red eyes would in any story. He looked kind, and beautiful.

To be completely honest with myself, he was probably the most beautiful man I had ever seen, and that includes Himitsu-sensei and Sai. The difference between him and Sai, though, was that this man was beautiful, but I knew the minute I saw him that I would never _ever_ have a chance with him. Besides, just because he was beautiful didn't necessarily mean that I would give up Sai just to try to get him. Of course, like Sai and Himitsu-sensei, this man had the same sort of masculine feel to his beauty that made him unmistakably male, unlike me.

I sort of froze when I saw the man, even though I knew I had never met him before. I just couldn't shake the feeling that I recognized him from somewhere. It didn't help that it had almost sounded like he knew me when he spoke, though I had no idea how he could know me, since I didn't know him. By the time I got my brain working again (which didn't take long...), Taka had already spoken.

"Suzaku-sama..."


	9. Suzaku

...and here we have chapter 9... It took a little bit longer than I thought it would (considering that chapter 8 came out in early August and now it's October...) But it's done, and I wrote over 75% of this in the past two days ^_^; Anyway, this chapter has explanations...and a certain god acting...not quite as dignified as you'd think a god would be. As well as my randomly (well, not really randomly, since the ties between Himitsu and the book, and Suzaku, and Seiryuu are what gave me the whole idea in the first place) making up backgrounds for Suzaku and Seiryuu...and the book...

I would like to make it clear now that this story is based off of the anime _before_ Eikouden... Yeah, I've seen Eikouden (it's the only FY anime that I actually own ^_^;), but I just don't like some of the stuff it sets up that would have to be reflected in this story. So...if you've seen Eikouden and are scratching your head wondering how in the world some of that stuff fits in here...it doesn't.

As for the next chapter...I have absolutely no idea. I doubt it will be before December, since November I will be working on National Novel Writing Month...and I'm not quite sure how I'm going to go about the next chapter (or how far it will go in the story)...so I doubt I can get it done by the end of October, not while trying to plot out an idea for NaNoWriMo at the same time.

DISCLAIMER: And I still do not own the shoujo goodness that is Fushigi Yuugi. It belongs to Watase Yuu, who draws many pretties...and I am just borrowing the characters and basic setting so that I can take them and bend them to my will. Mwahahahahaha!!! ...but Himitsu and Devin are still mine...even if I do strange things to Himitsu's background for the sake of this story...

* * *

Chapter 9: Suzaku 

As soon as Taka said it, I could see it. As far as I could remember, I had never seen any representation of Suzaku-sama in any form other than a red bird. That explained why I was so sure that I had never met or seen the man standing in front of me before, because I hadn't. But he was still my god; I was one of his seven warriors, and that explained why I was sure I knew him, because in a way I _did_. And besides that, Himitsu-sensei had called _him_ sensei, and I vaguely remembered Devin saying something about Himitsu-sensei's teacher being named Suzaku. I hadn't even considered that he might be the same Suzaku, but it almost explained why Devin had been pulled into it.

Of course, that didn't mean that I could think straight right after realizing exactly what Taka had said. It was a shock, a very big shock, and I just wasn't expecting it. So I just kind of stood there and stared at the kindly smiling god standing behind Himitsu-sensei for a while, until Himitsu-sensei finally grabbed me by the arm and started pulling me toward the door, key in hand.

I tried to pull away before I even thought about it. It wasn't that I had anything against Himitsu-sensei; it was just an instinctive reaction to struggle against someone who was making me move before I was ready to move. The strange thing was that I _couldn't_ pull away, even though I'm pretty sure I put all the superhuman strength I could summon without the magical bracers that I remembered having back in the book into it. His grip, while not painful on my arm, was _very_ strong, and definitely not that of a normal person.

"We're going to start attracting attention if we stay out here too much longer," he said as he fumbled to get the door open. "Devin and I are already the main focus of the gossip that the perverted old ladies who live here pass around. I don't need them talking about how I'm seducing a "poor, confused student" now. So if you want to continue this conversation, it happens inside."

I was too busy trying to come up with _something_ that might explain how Himitsu-sensei was stronger than I was to protest. It wasn't going well, and I didn't even realize as he got the lock to work and then dragged me into the apartment, followed closely by both Taka and Suzaku-sama. Before I knew it, I was seated on a couch with Taka on the other end, Suzaku-sama in an easy chair, and Himitsu-sensei on the loveseat across from us.

"Now, what's going on?" Himitsu-sensei asked.

"Are you _really_ Suzaku-sama?" I asked Suzaku-sama. He nodded, and didn't even look a little annoyed, though I think I would have been if I was a god and someone didn't believe that I was. "The _real_ Suzaku-sama?"

"Yes, Ryuuen," he said.

"Why are you _here_?" I asked him. It was a stupid question to ask, mostly because Suzaku-sama was a _god_, and I had no right asking him to explain his actions to me. But it came out of my mouth before I could stop myself. Besides, I didn't understand it. Suzaku-sama was from the book, just like all of us, but I remembered at that point that Seiryuu had been trying to use Miaka's friend Yui, his miko, to get _out_. So why was Suzaku-sama out and walking around the real world?

"I am visiting one of my prize pupils," he said, which only confused me even more. At my look of confusion, he continued. "He is sitting across from you at the moment, and I believe he is currently your teacher, is he not? He calls himself Himitsu now instead of his real name, but that does not change the fact that he is one of my best students."

"But, aren't you just another character in the book, just like we were?" I asked. I immediately regretted asking that particular stupid question as soon as it came out of my mouth. Luckily, he didn't get angry.

"Zennith," he said, turning to Himitsu-sensei. "Am I a character in a book?"

"Probably," Himitsu-sensei replied. His face was completely straight, but his voice was light, and I'm pretty sure he was joking. "You can find pretty much anything in the stories that people write, if you look hard enough. You'd be surprised."

Suzaku-sama sighed. "Let me rephrase that," he said. "Am I _just_ a character in a book?"

"No," Himitsu-sensei said. Then, after a slight pause, he continued. "Though I would love to know why _my_ student seems to think that you are. Have you been experimenting with ways to alter someone's thinking again?"

Suzaku-sama smiled. "Absolutely not," he said. "I would never do something like that."

"Oh?" Himitsu-sensei asked. "I seem to remember when I was young and you had my youngest sister convinced that you were a giant flying chicken, even though she knew better."

Suzaku-sama just continued to smile at Himitsu-sensei, as Taka and I stared at him with what I'm sure were matching looks of shock. I was having a hard time getting my mind to accept the thought of my _god_ playing a trick like that, but he wasn't denying it. When I looked over at Taka, he almost looked like he was about to fall off the couch, and I know that was how I felt. It just didn't seem _right_...even if it was true.

"That was a very long time ago," Suzaku-sama said, his voice calm. "But this particular situation comes from an even older experiment than that one. A successful one, I might add, but still from long before you were born."

"...you're leaving something out," Himitsu-sensei said, glaring at Suzaku-sama, who continued to smile back.

"It is a long story, and one which Taka and Ryuuen here already know the majority of. And I believe Ryuuen is in a hurry at the moment."

Himitsu-sensei sighed, but it sounded like a sigh of surrender more than anything else. "Fine...but I'd appreciate an explanation later." Then he turned to me. "Okay, Ryuuen...I guess you can try what you were trying to say earlier again now. But please, slower this time. Unlike some people, I'm not quite sure what's going on." He shot a nasty glance at Suzaku-sama, but didn't say anything.

I took a deep breath, and then decided to start with what I was pretty sure he would think was the worst part. "Devin's been kidnapped." I figured that even if he was somehow not willing to help us after Suzaku-sama got involved, that telling him that would make him listen. Of course, it wasn't quite true...since Devin had gone with Nakago willingly, even if he didn't really want to do it.

Himitsu-sensei took it much better than I thought he would, actually. He didn't get mad. Actually, he didn't even look all that surprised. He did at first, but then he sighed, leaned back against the back of his seat, and started to slide down, until he was almost falling off of the loveseat. "Again?" he asked, though he didn't actually seem to be talking to anyone specific.

This surprised me. "Huh?" I asked.

"Never mind. Why don't you tell me what happened, from the beginning?"

I nodded, but before I could start talking, a ringing noise started. It sounded like it was coming from the pocket of Taka's coat. He flashed a guilty look at the rest of us in the room, and then fished a cell phone out of his pocket. "Moshi moshi?" he said, after answering it.

He stayed silent for a few moments, nodding his head every now and then. Then, a surprised look flashed across his face, and he immediately followed that with a, "Are you absolutely sure about that?" After another, much shorter pause, he finally sighed and said, "Fine, let me talk to him first." Right after that, the volume of the person on the other end went up, a lot. Enough that I could hear him (and almost understand him)...and it kinda sounded like Genrou.

Finally, after being shouted at for a while, Taka lowered the phone and turned to me. "It's Tasuki, if you couldn't already tell. He wants to talk to you."

"But..." I said, not wanting to put off telling Himitsu-sensei what had happened just to talk to Genrou, who I was sure was still pissed off at me.

"I'll explain things for you," he said, shoving the cell phone into my hand. "Just try and convince Tasuki to stop threatening to torch buildings." And then I was being pushed into a chair in a different room (it looked like a kitchen). Nervously, I raised the cell phone to my ear.

"Hi...Genrou?" I said.

"Yer at Himitsu's place, aren't ya?" he said. He sounded remarkably calm compared to what I had heard while Taka was talking to him.

"Yeah."

"Have ya tried to explain things yet?"

"Kinda."

"And does he think yer crazy now?"

"..."

"He does, doesn't he?"

"...not really..."

"Ya can't be serious!"

"Genrou, he knows Suzaku-sama," I said.

"He already knows about it?" he asked. "Well, I guess he's a history teacher and all... He must have read some weird books or somethin'."

"No," I said. "He doesn't know _about_ us. He knows _Suzaku-sama_, the god. He's real, just like your tessen and my strength. And he's sitting in Himitsu-sensei's living room right now listening to Taka."

Right about then, I heard Himitsu-sensei yell at the top of his lungs (which, by the way, was very, very loud...almost painful). It was just one word, "Seiryuu!?" About two seconds later, he came storming through the kitchen, dragging Suzaku-sama by the arm. "Okay, I don't care if it takes a long time...you are explaining _now_!" he was almost yelling as he pulled Suzaku-sama into a different room and slammed the door behind him. And during the whole thing, I just stared.

I also missed whatever Genrou was saying while Himitsu-sensei crossed the room, since I had dropped the phone to my side as I watched. When I finally put the phone back up, Genrou almost sounded frantic. "Ryuuen? Ya still there?" he was asking.

"Sorry," I said. "I was just a little distracted. I think Himitsu-sensei knows Seiryuu as well, since I just heard him yell that, and then he dragged Suzaku-sama into another room, demanding an explanation."

"Are ya _sure_ he's really Suzaku-sama?" Genrou asked. "What if he's just some weirdo who says he's him? Remember, ya never actually _met_ him."

"But Taka has," I said. "And he's the one who recognized him first, not me. He really is Suzaku-sama, Genrou. I'm sure of it."

"If ya say so," Genrou said, not sounding convinced at all. I made the decision at that point to try to do anything I could to get Genrou and Suzaku-sama in the same place at the same time eventually, just so I could prove it to him. I didn't have much of a problem with him not believing me about Devin's trustworthiness, since I still couldn't figure out why I had trusted him myself. But with _Suzaku-sama_...I just couldn't let Genrou keep thinking I was wrong about that.

"I do say so," I said, and then I decided that it was time to change the topic. "Are you still mad enough to burn down buildings?" I asked him. "Or have you calmed down a little?"

"I'm pissed off," he said. "But not _as_ pissed off. Aren't ya pissed off too?"

"I'm _worried_ Genrou," I said. "And I'm scared...terrified actually. This wasn't supposed to be this big. It was just supposed to be me, and this guy who I like who doesn't quite realize that I'm not a girl yet... And now it's so complicated. Nakago has Devin and Miaka, and Sai... Suzaku-sama's involved. And Himitsu-sensei is pissed off at Suzaku-sama about _something_. And Mom is probably crying as we speak... No, I'm not pissed off."

"What happened with Mom?" he asked.

"She was home when Taka and I stopped by to try and find directions to Himitsu-sensei's place," I said. "She didn't want to let me leave. She kept asking questions, and when I told her that I was in a hurry she told me I couldn't go. And then she found out that what's going on is dangerous... And I'm sure she's worried about us, but I couldn't just stay at home and not do _anything_..."

"I'll go home and try talkin' to her," he said. "I doubt she'll try to stop me when I leave, and maybe I can do a little bit more explainin' to her about what's goin' on and how ya don't really have much of a choice about getting pulled into it. Will that make ya feel a little better?"

"Yeah," I said, smiling for what felt like the first time in forever even though he couldn't see me. "Thanks, Genrou."

"I suppose since I have somethin' useful to do now I should go and do it, and stop makin' ya waste Taka's money with his phone," he said. "Taka should have Houjun's cell number. Call him when ya get done, or if ya figure anythin' else out. Got it?"

"Yeah," I said. "Bye."

"See ya," he said, and then the line went dead. I went back into the living room and gave back Taka's phone. Then I returned to my seat on the couch. Himitsu-sensei and Suzaku-sama were still in the other room talking, so I decided it was a good time to find out what Taka had told them so far.

He told me that he had told them about us all being at Perkins, and how I had decided to eat with Devin after seeing him. He hadn't mentioned that I had gone to Devin mostly because of his own presence, but that was probably just because he didn't _know_ about that part of it. He didn't know what I had talked to Devin about, except that I had told him about the book and being reborn in the real world, but he had told them everything that he could from that part of the time at Perkins.

Then he had gotten to the part where Nakago had shown up. I had told him most of what had happened while we were in the car, since I just couldn't stand silence, and I couldn't think of anything else at the time. Because of that, he knew what had actually happened, so he could tell them that, instead of just vague ideas of what had been going on. But, when he mentioned Nakago, Himitsu-sensei had asked who that was, so he told him.

And that was when Himitsu-sensei had shouted. I actually knew more about what they were doing in the other room than Taka did after that, because Himitsu-sensei hadn't said _anything_ to Taka or Suzaku-sama before leaping off the loveseat and grabbing Suzaku-sama's arm. I had at least heard him demanding an explanation. But that didn't change the fact that we had to wait for Himitsu-sensei to be satisfied with Suzaku-sama's explanation, so they could come back and finish hearing what had happened.

We talked as we waited, about our lives, about random things, about everything under the sun _except_ the current situation. We didn't mention the book. We didn't mention Sai (or Hotohori in Taka's case). We just talked. And then, after a while, Taka finally told me his piece of news that had sparked Genrou's exclamation in the restaurant.

Miaka was pregnant. That was why he was even more worried about her being captured. Miaka, while not a warrior like we were, was always at least somewhat capable of taking care of herself. And, according to Taka, the years since when she was in the book had just made her more confident. But if the wrong things happened, she might lose the baby.

It made me think about how worried I was about Sai. Miaka _wasn't_ a warrior, but she was still strong, and Taka knew that. Taka was worried, but he wasn't falling to pieces like I was. And Sai _was_ a warrior; he was one of us, even if he didn't remember it yet. My panic, even though I didn't mean it that was, was like saying that I didn't think he could take care of himself. Of course, he probably _couldn't_, not when facing Nakago without his memories, but I had to believe that he could.

We were still talking when Himitsu-sensei and Suzaku-sama finally returned. Anything to keep from thinking more about Miaka and Sai than we had to. Himitsu-sensei did _not_ look happy, but at least he didn't look like he was mad at us, or at Suzaku-sama. He also looked extremely focused.

"Now that Sensei has explained things to me, I probably should tell you two a little more about what is going on on _my_ end of this," Himitsu-sensei said as he said down on the couch. "But first, why don't you finish telling us what happened?"

So I told him. I told him about Nakago showing up at the table, even though Taka had already covered that part. Then I told him, almost word for word, the conversation between Devin and Nakago, before Devin left with him. And the whole time he listened and nodded, like he expected what I was saying. Finally, he asked me what the message that Nakago wanted me to deliver was.

"He told me that he has our miko, Miaka, and one of our shichiseishi," I said. "And then he told me to tell the dragon that he has his fox, but I don't have any idea what that means. The only dragon I know of is Seiryuu, and I don't see why Nakago would want me to take _him_ a message." Except, I had started thinking as I talked, and I wasn't quite sure if that was true or not anymore.

"That's fine, Ryuuen," he said. "I know who he was talking about. You don't have to worry about that anymore; your message has gotten to its intended target."

"Who?" I asked, though by the time he said that I thought I might have figured it out. As I was telling Himitsu-sensei what Nakago and Devin had said, I had noticed something that I hadn't really paid attention to when it happened. Nakago had mentioned a fox _twice_ while he was in Perkins. The first time was when he addressed Devin, though I had been confused at that point. The second time was in his message. He had taken Devin with him after calling him a fox, and then told me to tell someone that he had taken a fox.

And if Devin was the fox...then only one person made sense, to me, to be the dragon.

"I think you already figured it out," Himitsu-sensei said.

"I'm not quite sure," I said. "And I'd rather hear it from someone who knows."

Himitsu-sensei sighed, but smiled at the same time. "I had a feeling you'd say something like that," he said. "But since this is something I already decided I needed to tell you I guess it doesn't bother me that much anyway. I'm the dragon, though I'm sure you already guessed that, and Devin is the fox. And I'm very glad you delivered my uncle's message to me, even if you didn't realize that you were going to do it when you started."


End file.
